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Trifolium dubium

Common name:	Suckling Clover	Family:	Leguminosae
Author:	Sibth.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:	Trifolium minus (Sm.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Sweden south and east to Spain and the Caucasus.
Habitat:	Grassy places throughout Britain[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	T. filiforme var. dubium[G] T. parviflorum[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Lesser Trefoil [L], Lesser Yellow Trefoil [L], Shamrock [L], Small Hop Clover [L], Suckling Clover [P,B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	dubium = dubious trifolium = 3 leaves
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fabales. Renamed to Fabaceae -- Pea family

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.5m. It is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to October, and the seeds ripen from July to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. It can fix Nitrogen. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

The plant is haemostatic[257]. A poultice of the chopped plant has been applied to cuts to stop the bleeding[257].

Other Uses

The plant fixes atmospheric nitrogen and is used in seed mixes with grasses for land reclamation sowings[200].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in a moist, well-drained circum-neutral soil in full sun[200]. Succeeds in poor soils[200]. Grows well in a wild flower lawn[200].
It grows well in an apple orchard, the trees will produce tastier fruit that stores better[201]. It should not be grown with camellias or gooseberries because it harbours a mite that can cause fruit drop in the gooseberries and premature budding in the camellias[201].
The nectar-rich flowers are a good food source for bees and butterflies[200].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[200]. Buttercups growing nearby depress the growth of the nitrogen bacteria by means of a root exudate[201]. When removing plant remains at the end of the growing season, it is best to only remove the aerial parts of the plant, leaving the roots in the ground to decay and release their nitrogen.

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and then sow in spring to early summer in situ.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Latin and Worldwide Common Names From Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database by M. H. Porcher et. al. 1995 - 2000 Landcare Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Production,Institute of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[FAO] Data (Description, Habitat, Location and Use) from the FAO's Grassland Index.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[201] Allardice.P. A - Z of Companion Planting. Cassell Publishers Ltd. 1993 ISBN 0-304-34324-2
A well produced and very readable book.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Trifolium+dubium
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Trifolium+dubium

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