Short-lived perennial, ascending or suberect, to 8 dm, the stem appressed-hairy; stipules oblong, the free part short, abruptly narrowed to a short awn; lower lvs long- petioled, upper short-petioled to sessile; heads sessile or on peduncles to 2 cm, globose to round-ovoid; fls 13-20 mm; cal glabrous to sparsely pilose, the tube 3-4 mm, the lobes setaceous, one 4-7 mm, four 2-5 mm; cor magenta, varying to nearly white; standard obovate-oblong, equaling or a little longer than the oblong obtuse wings; 2n=14. Native of Europe, widely cult. and escaped in fields and roadsides nearly throughout temperate N. Amer. May-Aug.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

©The New York Botanical Garden. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Non-Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Introduced perennial, sometimes biennial, 10-60 cm tall; stems erect to ascending, simple to few-branched, sparsely to densely pilose; taprooted. Leaves: Mostly cauline, alternate, trifoliate, the leaflets ovate, rhombic-elliptic, or obovate, 2.5-7 cm long, 7-35 mm wide, distinctly pinnately veined, often with a pale spot in the center, sparsely pilose, margin entire to obscurely crenulate or denticulate; stipules ovate or deltate-acuminate, 1-3 cm long, conspicuously veined; blades petiolate. Flowers: Inflorescence a head, globose in outline, usually more than 10-flowered; peduncles often sparsely pilose; involucre connate at the base, margin of the divisions entire; calyx about 7 mm long, the teeth longer than the tube; corolla 8-11 mm long, white, pink, or purple; flowers June-October. Fruits: Legume; seeds 1, seldom 2. Ecology: Fields and other cultivated areas, disturbed habitats; 1200-2700 m (4000-9000 ft); Apache, Coconino, Gila, Navajo, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties; widely distributed throughout North America. Notes: Red clover is often used as livestock fodder. It is a host plant for orange sulphur, clouded sulphur, Queen Alexandra-s sulphur, eastern tailed blue, and northern cloudywing butterflies. Synonyms: Trifolium pratense var. frigidum, Trifolium pratense var. sativum Editor: Springer et al. 2008

From Flora of Indiana (1940) by Charles C. Deam

This species is much sown for pasture and fodder and has frequently escaped in all parts of the state to roadsides, waste places, and fallow fields.

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Indiana Coefficient of Conservatism: C = null, non-native

Wetland Indicator Status: FACU