Trifolium hybridum

Native to Europe, western Asia, the Caucasus, and Morocco. Introduced and naturalized in North America.

Disturbed sites

May to September

Pale pink to pinkish-white, turning dark pink to red.

1′ to 2½′

This is an ascending perennial forb that rises on multiple stems from a taproot.

The stems are light green and hairless or nearly hairless. They tend to fall over with age, usually from rain or wind.

The leaves are alternate and compound, divided into 3 leaflets. They are on long, hairless leaf stalks. The leaflets are elliptical, hairless, and ⅜″ to ¾″ long and wide. They have no markings on the upper surface and are not notched or pointed at the tip. The margins are finely-toothed.

The inflorescence is several globular, head-like clusters borne on hairless stalks rising from the upper leaf axils. The flower heads are ½″ to ¾″ across. Each head has up to 50 flowers.

The flowers are pea-like, with 5 petals organized into a banner, 2 wings, and a keel formed by two petals fused together at the tip. Each individual flower is borne on a short stalk. The petals are pale pink to pinkish-white. They gradually turn darker pink to red as they age.

The fruit is a seed pod.

Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum) stems are densely hairy. The petals are crimson red.

Red clover (Trifolium pratense) stems are hairy. The leaflets have a pale V-shaped marking on the upper surface. The petals are pink or magenta. The individual flowers are stalkless.

White clover (Trifolium repens) is a much smaller plant, 4″ to 10″ tall. The stems are creeping, not ascending, and they root at the nodes. Flowers and leaves are borne on separate stalks. The leaflets have have a pale, crescent-shaped marking on the upper surface and may be notched at the tip. The petals are more white.

This is a true species and not a hybrid, as the latin name implies.