White clover is feared by garden lovers because it spreads quickly in the lawn. On the other hand, white clover also has many positive properties. The wild plant is edible and is used as animal feed for rodents and other small animals. The white flowers are also valuable bee pasture.

White clover is feared in lawns, but can also be used as a medicinal plant

White Clover - A Wanted Poster

  • Botanical name: Trifolium repens
  • Common name: creeping clover
  • Plant Family: Legumes
  • Subfamily: Lepidoptera
  • Occurrence: Europe, Asia, North America
  • Height: 5 - 20 centimeters
  • Perennial/Annual: perennial
  • stem: creeping, up to 40 cm long
  • Leaves: Trifoliate, green, often with a white band, 1 - 4 cm in size
  • Flowers: White, 40 - 80 individual flowers per inflorescence
  • Flowering period: May to October
  • Propagation: seeds, cuttings. Special feature: orange-yellow seeds
  • Use: wild herbs, animal feed, medicinal herbs
  • Special features: good bee pasture, green manure
  • Toxicity: non-toxic
  • Hardiness: fully hardy

Use of white clover

White clover is also considered a medicinal plant like red clover, even if it contains few plant hormones. It is used for various ailments such as:

  • colds
  • constipation
  • a headache

Like all types of clover, white clover can also be used in the kitchen. The flowers and leaves are edible, as are the seeds and seedlings.

In addition, white clover is readily accepted by small rodents. Because of its creeping growth, white clover is not very suitable as a forage plant for grazing animals.

Combat white clover in the lawn

The clover's white flowers attract countless insects, including many bees. This is not always a good thing on the lawn, especially when children run around barefoot on it.

White clover in the lawn should therefore be combated. It often helps to add more nutrients to the lawn, as the increased occurrence of white clover indicates a nutrient deficiency.

White clover can also be removed from the lawn by pulling it out or, in stubborn cases, by sharply scarifying it.

Peculiarities of white clover

Like all plants from the legume family, white clover forms long roots with small nitrogen sacs at the ends. That is why white clover is often sown as green manure.

The white clover is cut on the surface before flowering so that the roots remain in the ground. They loosen the soil and release nitrogen. White clover thus ensures good soil health.

tips

One of the special features of white clover is that four-leaf plants occasionally appear. They are very rare and have been considered lucky charms for centuries.

Category:

Herbs