Appearance

Growth form

A low, creeping perennial about 4–6 in (10–15 cm) tall. Its runners root where they touch the soil.

Leaves

Three smooth, rounded leaflets, often marked with a pale crescent. A four-leaf clover turns up only rarely.

Flowers

Round white flower heads may be tinged pink. Each head is made of many tiny flowers.

Flowering time

Blooms through spring and summer.

Fruit

Each tiny flower becomes a tiny pod holding a few small brown seeds.

Look-alikes

Red cloverTrifolium pratense

Red clover (Trifolium pratense) has upright stems and larger pink to purple flower heads. White clover creeps along the ground and has mostly white heads.

Why they get mixed up · Both have three-part leaves.

Alsike cloverTrifolium hybridum

Alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum) stands upright and has pale pink to white heads. It does not send out soil-rooting runners like white clover.

Why they get mixed up · Its pale flower heads look like white clover.

Where it lives

Typical habitats

• Lawns
• Roadsides
• Fields
• Pastures

Range

Native to Europe and introduced across the United States, where it grows in lawns, roadsides, fields, and pastures. It is often treated as a lawn weed.

Preferred conditions

Grows best in full sun to part shade and handles regular mowing and foot traffic.

Growing it

Care

Bacteria in small lumps on its roots pull nitrogen from the air, which is why farmers use it as forage and a cover crop.

Propagation

Spreads both by seed and by creeping stems that root at the joints.

Connected species

Ties with other wildlife

In the United States, it is a host plant for clouded sulfur caterpillars.

Pollinators

Honey bees and native bees visit the flowers in the United States.

Pollinators

• Western honey beeApis mellifera

  Honey bees are major pollinators of white clover and help it set seed.

Name and classification

Varieties and forms

Garden selections include larger forage types called Ladino clover and purple-leaved cultivars.

Conservation

IUCN Red List

NENot Evaluated·Not yet assessed

Culture and stories

Culture and stories

• A four-leaf clover is a familiar symbol of good luck.