Red clover

Red clover (Trifolium pratense) is common in pastures and grassland throughout Great Britain. It has the ability to “fix” atmospheric nitrogen into the soil, which makes it valuable to farmers.

Red clover has narrow pointed leaflets – usually three to a leaf but occasionally four – with a V-shaped band on each one. Reddish-purple flowerheads rise from a pair of leaves at the end of a stem from May to September. After the flowers die they stay on the fruiting head and conceal the small seed pods.

The nitrogen fixing happens because of the bacteria contained in tiny nodules on the plant’s roots. The nitrogen is then converted into salts which are essential for plant growth. Red clover is ploughed in to enrich the soil or harvested as animal fodder.

The main pollinators of red clover are bumble bees, but the flowers are also attractive to honey bees. Red clover is sometimes called “bee bread” because of this.

Red clover flowers can be used in wine-making, in in past times a syrup was made from them that was used to treat whooping cough. The rare four-leaved variants were believed to bring good luck and were worn on clothing in the belief that they would ward off witches and warlocks.

© John Welford