Ball-shaped heads of tiny white flowers on long stalks above rounded trefoil leaves with a pale band; the stems creep and root along the ground
White clover, Trifolium repens.
Nature · Wildflowers & flowers
White clover
Native · flowers Jun–Sep · lawns, pastures, verges and almost any grass
Trifolium repens — Fabaceae
The commonest of the clovers and one of the most widespread plants in British grassland, found from lawns to hill pastures. Creeping stems root as they go, so it survives close mowing and heavy grazing. As a legume it fixes nitrogen from the air through root nodules, which is why it is valued in pasture and not merely tolerated as a lawn weed.
How to spot them
- ▸Round, ball-shaped heads of tiny white flowers (sometimes flushed pale pink) on long, leafless stalks rising from ground level
- ▸Three rounded leaflets, each usually with a pale band or chevron across it
- ▸Creeping stems (stolons) that run over the ground and root at the nodes, forming mats
- ▸Old flowers turn brown and fold downwards beneath the head as the seed sets
- ▸Compare red clover: upright, hairy, with pink-purple heads sitting directly on the leaves
How to know it
Plantlife calls it the commonest of the clovers, found in parks, banks and lawns — indeed in any grassland habitat
White clover.
Its vernacular names include 'milky blobs', 'sheepy-maa's' and 'bee-bread', the last because children suck honey from the pulled-out florets
White clover (Plantlife).
Finding a variant of this plant with four or even five leaflets is considered lucky, ideally by accident
White clover — lucky four-leaved clovers; in parts of Buckinghamshire they were pressed as prayer-book bookmarks.
Nodules on its roots hold Rhizobium bacteria that capture nitrogen from the air, so it is sown with grass to boost pasture
White clover — nitrogen fixation by a legume.
Its species epithet is Latin for 'creeping', and it is one of the plants traditionally claimed as the Irish shamrock
Trifolium repens — white clover; lesser trefoil is the other common claimant.
Quick-fire facts
- •Family Fabaceae; Trifolium means 'three leaves' and repens 'creeping'
- •Plantlife gives a flowering season of June to September, and calls it common across the UK
- •The white flowers can be pulled from the heads and sucked for a bead of honey, giving the name 'bee-bread'
- •Four- and five-leaved forms are considered lucky; they were pressed as bookmarks in prayer books in parts of Buckinghamshire (Plantlife)
- •Grows in almost any grassy habitat and is especially tolerant of mowing and trampling because its growing points lie low on creeping stems
- •Legume: root-nodule bacteria (Rhizobium) fix atmospheric nitrogen, improving soils and feeding neighbouring grasses
- •A major nectar source for bees, including honeybees and bumblebees
- •Often claimed as the shamrock, the plant St Patrick is said to have used to teach the Trinity, though lesser trefoil is also proposed
Drill it — 7 cards
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Sources
- Plantlife — White Clover (Trifolium repens)
- Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust — Red clover