Sweet clovers, also known as Melilotus, and Calvary clover or alfalfa (also called Medicago) are types of clovers categorized under a related genera. Though rare, the plant also comes in species with cinquefoil, quatrefoil or septfoil leaves (often referred to as lucky clovers because they are rare). Quatrefoil plants have four leaves in one.
Clovers are often planted in lawns because they are tolerant to high foot traffic, shades and repeated mowing. However, they are prone to pests and diseases such as the alfalfa weevils, and mosaic and common leaf rot diseases, respectively.
Trefoil plants are rich in phosphorous, proteins and calcium to nourish both its dry and green growth stages. They are excellent nitrogen-fixing plants often used as cover crops. A biennial red clover can add up to 170kg of nitrogen to soil in every one hectare of land.
White clovers (T. repens), red clovers (Trifolium pratense) and alsike clovers (T. hybridum) are the most common species for gardening. White clovers are perennials that tend to creep low. Also known as Alsatian clover or Swedish Clover, Alsike clovers feature globular flower heads with rosy, pink petals. Red clover flowers grow in diameter up to 2.5cm.
Trifolium wormskioldii is a species of clover[1] native to the western half of North America. Its common names include cows clover,[2] coast clover, sand clover, seaside clover, springbank clover,[3] and Wormskjold's clover.[1]
Trifolium wormskioldii, a legume, is a perennial herb sometimes taking a matlike form, with decumbent or upright stems. The leaves are made up of leaflets measuring 1 to 3 centimetres (1⁄2 to 1+1⁄4 inches) long. The lower stipules are tipped with bristles and the upper stipules may be toothed.
The rounded inflorescences are 2 to 3 cm (3⁄4 to 1+1⁄4 in) wide. The sepals are bristle-tipped. The corollas are pinkish purple or magenta with white tips.[4]
The species was given its scientific name in honour of the Danish botanist Morten Wormskjold.[5]
This plant is native to the western half of North America from Alaska, through California, to Mexico. It is a perennial herb that grows in many locales, from beaches to mountain ridges, below about 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) in elevation.[4]
Habitats it grows in include chaparral, oak woodland, grassland, yellow pine forest, red fir forest, lodgepole forest, subalpine forest, and wetland−riparian.
Many Native American groups of western North America use this clover for food. The herbage and flowers are eaten raw, sometimes salted. The roots are commonly steamed or boiled and eaten with fish, fish eggs, and fish grease.[6]
This species is host to the caterpillar of the Western cloudywing butterfly (Thorybes diversus).[7]
Trifolium wormskioldii is a species of clover native to the western half of North America. Its common names include cows clover, coast clover, sand clover, seaside clover, springbank clover, and Wormskjold's clover.
