Trifolium fragiferum
strawberry clover
Overview
Trifolium fragiferum is a low, creeping perennial of the pea family that roots at the nodes to form spreading mats 4-12 inches (10-30 cm) high. The leaves are trifoliate, with three oval leaflets 0.4-0.8 inch (10-20 mm) long, often marked with a faint pale band. Pink to pale-pink flowers are packed into rounded heads 0.4-0.6 inch (10-15 mm) across on stalks held above the foliage in summer. As the seeds ripen the calyx of each flower inflates and turns pinkish and downy, so the whole head swells into a soft, strawberry-like ball that gives the plant its common name. It grows in damp, often brackish grassland, coastal marshes, and trampled ground across Europe, North Africa, and western Asia, and tolerates salt and compaction better than most clovers. Like other legumes it fixes nitrogen through root-nodule bacteria, enriching the soils it colonises. It withstands grazing and mowing and spreads steadily by creeping stems. The species is sown as a pasture and turf legume in saline or wet soils where white clover fails. Flowering is followed by the persistent inflated heads, which aid seed dispersal. It can become weedy in lawns and irrigated turf.
Native Range
Native to Europe, North Africa, and western and central Asia. It grows in damp and brackish grassland, often near coasts and on trampled or seasonally flooded ground.Suggested Uses
Sown as a pasture legume, ground cover, and turf component on saline, wet, or compacted soils. It is used in coastal and reclamation plantings to bind and enrich poor ground. In lawns it serves as a low, traffic-tolerant clover.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height4" - 1'
Width/Spread1' - 2'
Bloom Information
Pink flower heads open from July to September on stalks above the leaves. Each head flowers over one to two weeks before the calyces begin to swell. The flowers are visited by bees and other pollen-seeking insects.
Detailed Descriptions
Foliage Description
greenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight