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Clovers

Clover
Trifolium April 2010-2.jpg
Trifolium sp. (clover)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Trifolieae
Genus: Trifolium
L.
Species: See text
Subgenera and Sections

subg. Chronosemium
subg. Trifolium

sect. Glycyrrhizum
sect. Involucrarium
sect. Lupinaster
sect. Paramesus
sect. Trichocephalum
sect. Trifoliastrum
sect. Trifolium
sect. Vesicastrum
Synonyms

Amoria C. Presl
Bobrovia A. P. Khokhr.
Chrysaspis Desv.
Lupinaster Fabr.
Ursia Vassilcz.
Xerosphaera Soják


subg. Chronosemium
subg. Trifolium

Amoria C. Presl
Bobrovia A. P. Khokhr.
Chrysaspis Desv.
Lupinaster Fabr.
Ursia Vassilcz.
Xerosphaera Soják

Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus Trifolium (Latin, tres "three" + folium "leaf"), consisting of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous 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. Clover can be evergreen. The leaves are trifoliate (rarely quatrefoiled, cinquefoil, or septfoil), 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 Melilotus (sweet clover) and Medicago (alfalfa or Calvary clover).

Several species of clover are extensively cultivated as fodder plants. The most widely cultivated clovers are white clover Trifolium repens and red clover Trifolium pratense. Clover, either sown alone or in mixture with ryegrass, has for a long time formed a staple crop for silaging, for several reasons: it grows freely, shooting up again after repeated mowings; it produces an abundant crop; it is palatable to and nutritious for ; it fixes nitrogen, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers; it grows in a great range of soils and climates; and it is appropriate for either pasturage or green composting.


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Wikipedia

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