White clover

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White clover

White clover

White clover

White clover

White clover

White clover

White clover

Morphology

Stem

Prostrate, creeping, rooting at nodes, glabrous to slightly pubescent; often forms mats.

Leaves

Alternate, palmately 3-foliolate on stalks 2 to 8 inches long; leaflets broadly elliptic to egg-shaped or nearly heart-shaped, .4 to 1.5 long, .2 to .8 inch wide; surfaces mostly glabrous, often with pale V-shaped spot on upper surface; margins finely toothed; tip rounded to notched; stipules thin, pale, 1/8 to 2/5 inch long, at base of leaf stalk.

Inflorescence

Head, nearly spherical, .4 to 1.2 inch in diameter, 40-90 flowered, terminal on stalks 2 to 8 inches long.

Flower

Individual flowers on short stalks; calyx 5-toothed, 10-nerved, glabrous; teeth narrowly triangular, unequal; corolla papilionaceous, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, white or pinkish, turning brown; banner longer than wings and keel; stamens 10, 9 united, 1 free.

Fruit

Pod, oblong-linear, 1/6 to 1/5 inch long, 2-4 seeded; seeds small, heart-shaped, yellowish.

Ecology

Habitat

Lawns, waste places, fields, pastures, disturbed areas, stream valleys, roadsides; clay or silt soils.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas

Reproduction

Seeds and stolons

Practical Information

Toxicity

White clover can cause bloat in livestock but death is extremely rare.

Forage Value

Excellent forage value and high palatability, but produces low yields. Upland game birds, wild turkeys, and small mammals consume the leaves and grouse eat the seeds.

Uses

Native Americans steeped the dried leaves and took the tea to treat colds and coughs and steeped the flowers and used the liquid as an eyewash.

Additional Notes