Alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum)
Synonyms: Trifolium elegans, Trifolium hybridum ssp. elegans, Trifolium hybridum var. elegans, Trifolium hybridum L. var. pratenseDescription: Primarily introduced for cultivation of hay, pasture and fodder. Also used for soil stabilization.
Habit: Short lived perennial that favors cool, moist conditions and can reach a height of 30-60 cm.
Leaves: Palmately compound, 3 inches long; leaflets are 0.50-1 inch long and 1/4-1/3 inch wide, hairless, oval to elliptic, rounded at the tip and tapered at the base. Stalkless with serrated sharp teeth around the edges.
Stems: Hairless, multiple, spreading, ascending
Flowers: Single flower heads on stalks 1-3 inches long, arising from the leaf axil; Flowerheads are 3/4 inch in diameter, densely pack with pea-shaped flowers, sharply pointed upward curved petal, small lateral wings, throat keel, light pink to white becoming darker pink in color. Calyx is short and hairless.
Fruit and seeds: 2-4 seeds produced by each flower, smooth, heart-shaped, 1mm long, in short, broad pods that are green to green-ish brown in color becoming black with age.
Habitat: Native to Eurasia. Can be found in fields, roadsides, waste areas, and disturbed sites.
Reproduction: By seed.
Similar species: White clover (Trifolium repens), red clover (Trifolium pratens)
Monitoring and rapid response: Small infestations can be hand pulled. Several herbicides can be used for control but more information on names, etc. are not known. Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from CABI: Invasive Species Compendium and Minnesota Wildflowers.
Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org).Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).