TRIFOLIUM REPENS: CHARACTERISTICS, HABITAT, CULTIVATION, CARE, TOXICITY - BIOLOGY - 2025

Trifolium repens is a species of perennial legume with a decumbent bearing that belongs to the Fabaceae family. Known as bogie, honeysuckle, white speck, bitter clover, white clover, wild clover, wild clover or trebolillo, it is a native species of the Mediterranean basin.

It is a herbaceous plant with creeping growth with long stolons that vigorously root at the internodes. The obovate trifoliate leaves and denticulate margins are characterized by a white spot on the upper surface. The flowers arranged in heads are white or pink.

Trifolium repens. Source: Algirdas at the Lithuanian language Wikipedia / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

White clover constitutes one of the main forage legumes used as a food supplement for bovines, goats, cervids, horses and sheep. However, its consumption must be associated with grasses to avoid abdominal distension in ruminants, due to the excessive accumulation of gases in the intestines.

General characteristics

Trifolium repens leaves. Source: Ranko / Public domain

Appearance

Herbaceous plant with a creeping bearing, procumbent stems, glabrous and climbing growth that can reach up to 10-20 cm in height. Its root system, formed by a branched main root and numerous adventitious roots, has stoloniferous habits, which favors its rapid spread.

Leaves

The petiolate leaves are formed by three obovate, smooth and serrated leaflets 1-2 cm long. Each dull green leaflet is characterized by a central whitish spot and a membranous stipula covering the petiole.

flowers

Papillionáceous flowers have an irregular corolla and five whitish petals, one upright or "standard", two lateral or "wings" and two lower or "keels". Usually 50-150 flowers are grouped in inflorescences or glomeruli 15-20 mm in diameter on a flower stalk 10-20 cm long. The flowering period occurs from June to August.

Fruit

The fruit is an indehiscent legume that contains 3-4 small yellowish or reddish-brown heart-shaped seeds. Each seed has a thick and suberized seed coat, as well as a small protrusion from which the future radicle will emerge.

Taxonomy

- Kingdom: Plantae

- Division: Magnoliophyta

- Class: Magnoliopsida

- Order: Fabales

- Family: Fabaceae

- Subfamily: Faboideae

- Tribe: Trifolieae

- Genus: Trifolium

- Species: Trifolium repens L.

Etymology

- Trifolium: the name of the genus derives from the union of the Latin terms "tri" and "-folium", which mean "three" and "leaf", which translates into "three leaves".

- repens: the specific adjective in Latin refers to its "creeping" growth.

Synonymy

- Lotodes repens Kuntze

- Trifolium limonium Phil.

- Trifolium stipitatum Clos

Inflorescence of Trifolium repens. Source: © Hans Hillewaert

Distribution and habitat

White clover is a perennial herb native to southern Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia, naturalized in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. At present it is a widely distributed species as a forage plant in temperate and subtropical regions around the planet.

It develops in environments with a subtropical or temperate-humid climate with little summer drought, on various types of terrain, with the exception of heavy and sandy soils. Its natural habitat is located on humid lands on the banks of water courses, roadsides or paths, edge of forests, meadows and fallow lands.

Culture

Commercially, white clover is easily propagated through seeds or stolons from its roots. In temperate zones it can be grown as a rainfed crop, in drier zones it is necessary to implement a frequent irrigation system.

Sowing by seeds is carried out at a rate of 1.5-3 kg of seed per hectare, dispersing broadcast and superficially. In grazing fields, it tends to be associated with other forage species, and it is advisable not to exceed the portion of white clover to more than 30%.

On the other hand, vegetative propagation through stolons is a quick way to cover large areas. In fact, clover is a very persistent plant that can become a weed in farm fields, lawns, parks, and gardens.

Field of white clover (Trifolium repens). Source: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Care

Location

White clover must be grown in full sun exposure and in warm environments for effective development. Although it tolerates occasional frosts down to -5 ºC, it is best to plant in areas where temperatures do not drop below 10 ºC.

Floor

It grows on a great diversity of soil, including poor, sandy and acid pH soils. However, it is susceptible to salinity and requires phosphorous supplements. Soil pH around 6.5 favors nitrogen fixation.

White clover develops nodules on its roots associated with nitrifying bacteria of the genus Rhizobium. Under optimal conditions of temperature, humidity and substrate, bacteria have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen.

Weather

This legume, either wild or cultivated as forage, adapts to a wide variety of climatic conditions. In fact, it develops favorably in a temperature range of 18-30 ºC, the optimum temperature being 24 ºC.

Temperatures higher than 35 ºC or lower than 10 ºC tend to reduce their growth and development. On the other hand, to start the flowering process it requires going through a period of low winter temperatures or the vernalization stage.

Irrigation

Due to the shallowness of its roots, white clover is susceptible to a water deficit caused by low rainfall. It develops effectively in regions where rainfall is distributed regularly throughout the year.

In areas with prolonged dry periods, the availability of frequent irrigation is necessary, otherwise its performance as forage drops considerably. However, in poorly drained soils, it supports excess moisture, being less sensitive than most forage legumes.

Illustration of Trifolium repens. Source: Amédée Masclef / Public domain

Toxicity

White clover is rich in several secondary metabolites, including the carbohydrates arabinose, glucomannan, and rhamnose, coumarin medicagol, and caffeic, salicylic, and oxalic acids. As well as saponins, the anthocyanins cyanidin and delphinidin, the flavonoids camferol, quercetin and myricetin, the phytoestrogens daidzein, formononetin and genistein. In addition, it contains cyanogenic glycosides of toxic action.

The presence of phytoestrogens can induce abortion, being totally contraindicated in case of pregnancy. Likewise, it has an estrogenic effect, so its intake is not recommended in people who use contraceptives. Its regular consumption can alter the hormonal level in the body.

On the other hand, the high content of oxalic acid prevents the absorption of certain mineral elements such as calcium and iron. Similarly, oxalate tends to accumulate in the kidney tubes, causing the formation of stones or kidney stones.

In cattle, regular consumption of white clover can cause the digestive system to become bloated and sterile. As well as congenital malformations during the gestation period, such as deformation of the hips or bovine achondroplasia.

References

1. Canals, RM, Peralta, J. & Zubiri, E. (2019) Trifolium repens L.: white clover. Herbarium of the Public University of Navarra. Recovered in: unavarra.es
2. Gutiérrez-Arenas, AF, Hernández-Garay, A., Vaquera-Huerta, H., Zaragoza-Ramírez, JL, Luna-Guerrero, MJ, Reyes-Castro, S., & Gutiérrez-Arenas, DA (2018). Analysis of Seasonal Growth of White Clover (Trifolium repens L.). AGROProductivity, 11 (5), 62-69.
3. Sánchez, M. (2018) White clover (Trifolium repens). Gardening On. Recovered in: jardineriaon.com
4. Trifolium repens. (2019). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered at: es.wikipedia.org
5. Trifolium repens (2016) Argentine National Pest Surveillance and Monitoring System. Recovered at: sinavimo.gov.ar
6. Trifolium repens L. (2005) Catalog of Life: 2019 Annual Checklist. Recovered at: catalogueoflife.org
7. Vibrans, H. (2009) Trifolium repens L. Weeds of Mexico. Recovered at: conabio.gob.mx