alsike clover

Alsike clover, scientifically known as Trifolium hybridum, is a European perennial clover widely used as a forage plant. It is also referred to as Swedish clover or Alsatian clover.12

Alsike clover belongs to the genus Trifolium, which encompasses about 300 species of annual and perennial plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. These plants are valuable as livestock feed, cover crops, or green manure. Their flowers are highly attractive to bees, making clover honey a common byproduct.2

Clovers are typically short-lived herbs with leaves that usually have three toothed leaflets. Their small, fragrant flowers are clustered into dense heads and can be white, pink, red, or yellow. Clovers are nutritious for livestock, being rich in protein, phosphorus, and calcium. They also improve soil by adding nitrogen and increasing nutrient availability for subsequent crops.2