Trifolium incarnatum

Native of Europe, Turkey, and Macaronesia. Introduced, cultivated, and naturalized in North America.

Disturbed sites. Full or partial sun.

May to July

Crismon red

6″ to 30″

This is an annual forb that rises on a rosette of stems from a taproot.

The stems are erect or semi-erect and densely hairy with a few side branches.

The leaves are alternate and compound, divided into 3 leaflets. The leaflets are broadly egg-shaped and rounded at the tip.

The inflorescence is a head-like cluster at the end of each stem and branch. The flower heads are cone-shaped, pointed, and 1⅛″ to 2″ tall. Each head has up to 75 to 125 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. The banner is longer than the wings and the keel. The individual flowers are stalkless. The petals are crimson red.

The fruit is a seed pod containing a single seed.

Alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum) stems are hairless or nearly hairless. The petals are pale pink to pinkish-white.

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

White clover (Trifolium repens) stems are creeping and they root at the nodes. Flowers and leaves are borne on separate stalks. The leaflets have have a pale, crescent-shaped, not V-shaped, marking on the upper surface. The petals are white or white tinted with pink.