Species of the Month

It’s time once again for the wearin’ o’ the green. To celebrate, our species of the month is white clover. This three-leafed plant is also known as the shamrock, a traditional symbol of Ireland and Saint Patrick’s Day.

White clover leaf (Michigan State University)

Scientific name: Trifolium repens

Kingdom: Plantae (plants)

Class:   Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons)

Order: Fabales (dicot flowering plants)

Range: native to Europe, now globally distributed

Habitat: pastures, yards

Lifespan: perennial plant, at least two years

Diet: sunlight and water

Predators: small mammals such as groundhogs and rabbits, deer, livestock

White clover flower (USDA PLANTS)

Closeup of the flower (USDA PLANTS)

Conservation Status: no special protection, may be considered noxious in some areas

Other Information: Believe it or not, clover is in the legume family with peas and beans. These plants form a symbiotic relationship with fungi that live in nodules on their roots and can absorb nitrogen from the air and fix it to the soil, benefitting other plants. Most white clover plants have three leaves, but the ones with four leaves are considered good luck. The four leaf clover is actually a genetic mutation. There are also clovers with five, six, or more leaves but whether or not they are lucky is undetermined. White clover is commonly planted with pasture grasses for grazing. The Ladino variety is tall enough to be cut as hay. It is an important flower for honeybees. It spreads quickly and is sometimes used for erosion control as a ground cover. Native to Europe, it is an invasive species in the US.

This week's information comes from USDA's PLANTS database.

The elusive four leaf clover (Wikipedia)