TRIFOLIUML.CLOVER

TRIFOLIUML. - CLOVER

Scientific Description:

Annual or perennial herbs. Leaves trifoliolate or rarely digitate with 5−9, usually dentate leaflets; stipules conspicuous, usually entire, adnate to the petiole. Flowers in sessile or pedunculate heads or short racemes, rarely solitary, bracteate or bractless. Calyx variable, sometimes accrescent, indurated or inflated throat open or closed by a 2-lipped callosity; teeth equal or unequal. Corolla pink, red to purple, white or yellow, usually persistent. Stamens diadelphous. Legume usually included in the calyx, often indehiscent, 1−2(−10)-seeded.

Reference:

Zohary M (1970). Trifolium L., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 3: 384.

Public Description:

Trifolium is a genus of small annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial herbaceous plants known as “clover”, 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. There are approximately 244 species in the world and 106 species (142 taxa) in Türkiye. Several species of clovers are cultivated as fodder plants, mainly "white clower (Trifolium repens L.)" and "crimson clover (Trifolium pratense L.)". It is a constantly growing plant shooting up again after repeated mowings and gives plenty of crop.It is nutritious and delicious for animals. It reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers and increases the level of nitrogen in the soil. 

References:

Anonymous 1 (2016). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clover/, Accessed date: 13.02.2016.

Anonymous 2 (2016). http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Leguminosae/Trifolium//, Accessed date: 13.02.2016.

Anonymous 3 (2016). http://www.discoverlife.org/nh/tx/Plantae/Dicotyledoneae/Fabaceae/Trifolium//, Accessed date: 13.02.2016.

Anonymous 4 (2016). https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/genus/trifolium//, Accessed date: 13.02.2016.

Keskin M (2012). Trifolium L., In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 488−498.