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Trifolium incarnatum
Also called Scarlet Clover, Italian Clover, Carnation Clover, Chinese Barberry
Crimson clover is an upright annual clover native to Europe and southwest Asia, grown mainly as a forage, cover crop and nitrogen-fixing soil builder rather than as a garden ornamental. Sow seed in autumn or early spring in open, sunny ground and let it grow through spring for its red-to-cream flower spikes.
Trifolium incarnatum, known as crimson clover is a species of herbaceous flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Eurasia.
Away from its native areas, crimson clover has been introduced to many other areas, including northwestern Africa, Australia, Chile, India, Japan, Pakistan and the United States. Crimson clover is commonly used in agriculture as a nitrogen-fixing cover crop. The plant is widely grown as a protein-rich forage crop for cattle and other livestock, and is suitable to be made into hay. It is commonly grazed by domestic and wild ruminants. It is often used for roadside erosion control, as well as beautification, however it can exclude other desirable spring and early-summer species of native vegetation in the area where it is planted. It is sown as quickly as possible after the removal of a grain crop at the rate of 20–22 kg/ha. It is found to succeed better when only the surface of the soil is stirred by the scarifier and harrow than when ploughed. It grows rapidly in spring, and yields an abundant crop of greenery. Only one cutting, however, can be obtained, as it does not shoot again after being mown.
The species is native to most of Europe and southwest Asia.
Owl-head clover · Kura clover · Showy Indian clover · Narrowleaf crimson clover · Golden clover · Brown clover · Southern clover · Foothill clover · Strawberry clover · Clustered clover · Rose clover · Alsike clover
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Trifolium incarnatum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
