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Columbia Encyclopedia entry: clover

Clover, any plant of the genus Trifolium, leguminous hay and forage plants of the family Leguminosae (pulse family). Most of the species are native to north temperate or subtropical regions, and all the American cultivated forms have been introduced from Europe. Red clover (T. pratense), the state flower of Vermont, was the leading leguminous hay crop of the northeastern regions until it was surpassed by alfalfa. It is frequently seeded with timothy. Swedish, or alsike, clover (T. hybridum) is similarly used in the same area. The common white, or Dutch, clover (T. repens) is also cultivated at times but is considered a weed in fields and pastures, where it spreads rapidly. Its dried flower and seed heads were used for making bread during famines in Ireland and the leaves are eaten as salad in some parts of the United States. The clovers are excellent honey plants. Other plants are sometimes called clover, e.g., the related melilot, or sweet clover. Clover was used by the Greeks in garlands and other decorations. The druids held it sacred. It is said to have been the early emblem of Ireland from which the shamrock is derived, and it is an emblem of the Trinity. English and American poets have celebrated it. A four-leaved clover is thought to bring good luck. See also lespedeza; trefoil. Clover is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Leguminosae.

See bulletins of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Wikipedia search results for: Clover

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clover, or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes on mountains in the tropics. They are small annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial herbaceous plants. The leaves are trifoliate, with stipules adnate to the leaf-stalk, and heads or dense spikes of small red, purple, white, or yellow flowers; the small, few-seeded pods are enclosed in the calyx. Other closely related genera often called clovers include...more »

Columbia Encyclopedia search results: clover

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water clover
Water clover, common name for various species of aquatic ferns.
sweet clover
Sweet clover or melilot, Eurasian and North African leguminous herbs of the genus Melilotus of the family Leguminosae (pulse family). Sweet clovers, now widely naturalized in North America, ar...
lespedeza
Lespedeza or bush clover, any plant of the genus Lespedeza, leguminous herbs or undershrubs of the family Leguminosae (pulse family); native to North America, Asia, and Australia. Lespedezas a...
hay, livestock fodder
Hay, wild or cultivated plants, chiefly grasses and legumes, mown and dried for use as livestock fodder. Hay is an important factor in cattle raising and is one of the leading crops of the Uni...
trefoil
Trefoil [O.Fr.,=three-leaf], in botany, name for several plants, chiefly of the pulse family, having trifoliate leaves. Best known of the trefoils is clover. The bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus cor...
alfalfa caterpillar
Alfalfa caterpillar, larva of the alfalfa butterfly, Colias eurytheme, a member of the family Pieridae. Found throughout most of Mexico, the United States, and S Canada, it is sometimes a seri...
runner
Runner or stolon, slender, creeping stem capable of taking root where its nodes touch the ground and thereby producing new shoots. The runner itself usually dies at the end of the season, leav...
soiling
Soiling, agricultural practice of feeding green fodder to livestock in the barn or dry lot. It is followed in the United States mostly in the dairy industry in seasons when pastures are short,...
sainfoin
Sainfoin [Fr.,=holy hay], leguminous perennial herb (Onobrychis viciaefolia) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family) indigenous in S Europe and in temperate W Asia. Sainfoin has for centuries...
shamrock
Shamrock, a plant with leaves composed of three leaflets. According to legend it was used by St. Patrick in explaining the doctrine of the Trinity; it is now used as the emblem of Ireland. An ...

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