''Trifolium arvense'', commonly known as the hare's-foot clover, rabbitfoot clover, stone clover or oldfield clover, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the bean family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

. This species of clover is native to most of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, excluding the Arctic zone, and western

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, in plain or mid-mountain habitats up to altitude. It grows in dry sandy

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

s, both

acid In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...

ic and

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...

, soil with dry-mesic conditions and is typically found at the edge of fields, in wastelands, at the side of roads, on sand dunes, and opportunistically in vineyards and orchards when they are not irrigated.

Description

''Trifolium arvense'' is a small erect

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

annual Annual may refer to: * Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook ** Literary annual * Annual plant * Annual report * Annual giving * Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco * Annuals (b ...

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

plant, growing to 10–40 cm tall. Like all clovers, its

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are trifoliate, divided into three slender, sessile leaflets 1–2 cm long and 3–5 mm broad, sometimes edged with small hairs and finely serrated. The leaves have a pair of

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

s at the base, often tipped in red. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are grouped in a dense

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

2–3 cm long and 1-1.5 cm broad; each flower is 4–5 mm long, rosy white in colour, and especially characterised by the many silky white hairs which tip the five sepals, which are much larger than the petals. These hairs, along with the more or less oblong form of the inflorescence, are the inspiration for the common name.

Pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds ...

is carried out by bees, or via autogamy, since the plant is

hermaphroditic In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have separ ...

, and the flowering season is from mid-spring to late summer. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a small pod containing a single

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

Distribution

''Trifolium arvense'' is native to Europe and has been introduced to North America where it now appears throughout the eastern United States, southern Canada, and the western part of the U.S. along the Pacific Coast. The plant has also been recorded in some parts of Hawaii.

Reproduction

''Trifolium arvense'' flowers in early summer and does not require a cold period to induce flowering. Larger plants in good condition may flower for a longer period. In wild populations of ''Trifolium arvense'' only plants that are large enough (dry weight >0.01g) tend to produce seeds. The flowers of ''Trifolium arvense'' are self-fertilized, but visits by bees provide some opportunity for cross-fertilization. The seeds produced by ''Trifolium arvense'' are covered by a hard seed coat which enables them to survive for a long period without germinating unless the seed coat is damaged.

Cultivation and uses

Like most

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

s, it fixes nitrogen, making it valued on low fertility soils for the benefit it gives to other crop species in supplying

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

. It is also grazed by

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

and

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s. The nitrogen fixing ability of ''Trifolium arvense'' depends on the size of nodule attach in the root system of legume. The sizes of nodule showing the positive correlation with the composition of community of microorganisms which are responsible for nitrogen fixing. In semi-arid area, the percentage of nitrogen originate from the atmosphere in total amount of nitrogen fixation done by ''Trifolium arvense'' has been maintained at a high level range which refers to 82%-91%. In raining season, the total quantity of nitrogen been fixed by ''Trifolium arvense'' is larger than the one in dry season. The medicinal value of ''Trifolium arvense'' has been discovered to treat both humans and animals. It has been introduced to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, where it is an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

in some areas. ''Trifolium arvense''is also regarded as food by some animals like rabbit, wild turkey, deer etc. However, due to the hairy flowers of ''Trifolium arvense'', if a horse or other livestock were fed with too much of them, abdominal obstruction may be caused leading to death. In addition, ''Trifolium arvense'' is also a kind of plant that has the characteristic of allergenicity. Although it is mild as allergen, it needs to be paid attention to. Scientists at AgResearch in New Zealand have used genetic modification to take a single gene from ''Trifolium arvense'' and put it into the more common white clover, ''

Trifolium repens ''Trifolium repens'', the white clover, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae (otherwise known as Leguminosae). It is native to Europe, including the British Isles,Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg., E.F. 1968. ''Excursio ...

''. The genetically modified clover could reduce bloating in livestock and decrease

methane emissions Increasing methane emissions are a major contributor to the rising concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere, and are responsible for up to one-third of near-term global heating. During 2019, about 60% (360 million tons) of methane r ...

. The release of the genetically modified clover is expected to be in approximately 2025.

Management

Being part of Fabaceae, ''Trifolium arvense'' is managed similarly to other weeds in the family. ''Trifolium arvense'' can be easily controlled in small scale field like home garden by hand-pulling, cultivation or using mulch. But when it comes to farm or landscape of wide field, due to the seeds of ''Trifolium arvense'' are highly tolerant of extreme temperature as well as physical damage because of their tiny size, long-term efforts of fighting against ''Trifolium arvense'' is required. Tillage and composting would not work well in this situation compared to other kinds of weeds. Chemical application is needed to assist to remove ''Trifolium arvense''. Once the weedy situation is under control, changing the cultural practice and turfgrass is necessary to avoid them to emerge again. In addition, increasing the amount of nitrogen and decreasing the amount of phosphorus contained in fertilizer used can be effective in removing family Fabaceae weeds and other weeds as well.

References

External links

Flore des Hautes-Alpes

{{Taxonbar, from=Q125813 Flora of Europe Flora of Estonia Flora of Lebanon Flora of the United Kingdom arvense Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus