Trifolium hybridum is a flowering plant in the bean family. Its natural habitat includes moist meadows, pastures, abandoned fields, and roadsides. Cool and moist conditions will provide the best performance. The common name, Alsike Clover, arises from Carl Linnaeus, who was an avid plant lover, discovering it growing in Alsike, a small town in Sweden. It was introduced into the USA by early European settlers and has since become naturalized the Americas. Its globular flowers are light pink to white. As the flowers age, the pink will darken, beginning with the lower blossoms on the globe. The change in the coloring results in an attractive two-toned color pattern. Although considered weedy, Alsike Clover is highly a highly valuable plant for wildlife. A wide variety of insects, including bees and butterflies, songbirds, game birds, and mammals feed on the seeds and foliage. This plant is often confused with Trifolium repens or Trifolium pratense . Differences include; the flower head of Trifolium hybridum has a peduncle (a stalk-like part), and is not supported by stipules or leaves; it does not creep along the ground and root at the nodes; and leaflets of Trifolium hybridum are unmottled, where Trifolium repens can have an inverted V near their base. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Does not perform well when regular mowing occurs. Weedy
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
Less than 12 inches; 12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Ascending; Erect
Texture
Fine
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Oblong; Obovate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf feel
Smooth
Leaf size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
The 1/2" leaves are hairless with finely serrate margins. Unlike other varieties of Clover, the leaves develop from the stems.
Flower color
Pink; White
Flower value
Long Bloom Season
Flower form
Raceme
Flower shape
Cup
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
The flowers are a whitish/pink. The racemes bear 30 to 50 florets. Each floret is approximately 1/4" long and slender. The rounded flower head ranges from 1/2-3/4" across. Consisting of one standard, two side petals and a keel.
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
The fruits do not split open when ripe. The short, broad pods are greenish/brown and darken to nearly black with age.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
The stems, which are round, hollow, and hairless, will occasionally branch.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Mediterranean, Iran
Wildlife value
This plant supports Clouded Sulfur (Colias philodice) larvae which appear from May to October in the North and from March to November in the South. There are 3 flights in the North and 4 to 5 flights in the South. Adult Clouded Sulfur butterflies feed on flower nectar from many different plants.