Crop Type: Open field crop
Breeding system: Predominantly allogamous
Red clover (Trifolium pratense ssp. pratense) is a perennial plant species belonging to the Fabaceae family. It is variable in size growing to 20–80 cm tall having a deep taproot which makes it tolerant to drought and gives it a good soil structuring effect. Its green leaves are trifoliate, flowers are violet-red (sometimes light red) with a paler base. (E.g. Luontoportti 2019a).
Red cover was taken to cultivation in Europe around 9th century first in Andalusia Spain. Before the synthetic N fertilizers and their increased use after 1940s red clover and other legumes offed the main source of nitrogen for agricultural crops. In Europe the size of clover crop fields declined from 9.5 million ha in 1980 to 6.0 ha in 2000.
Red clover is one of the world’s most important fodder cops. Furthermore, along with timothy-grass it is the most important species for seeded home lawns. It is used also as an ornamental plant.
It is cultivated mixed with other forage crops. There are no cultivation statistics of red clover, only statistics of seed production. In EU, the largest seed producers of red clover are France, Czech Republic, Poland and Lithuania; in 2018 the seed production areas were 9,807 ha, 6,433 ha, 6,013 ha and 5,096 ha, in respectively. In Finland the field production area for red clover seed was 499 ha. (ESCAA 2019).
Red clover can be differentiated from its wild relative zigzag clover (Trifolium medium) by e.g. its leaves and inflorescence. Zigzag clover is native to Finland. Although it looks very much like red clover, it has not been a significant crop fodder in Finland. Its distribution is much more limited compared to red clover because it demands light and heat and does but not survive in gloomy backwoods or open meadows combating with other wild species. (Luontoportti 2019b). Red clover is discovered as invasive crop in all across Finland, except the northernmost Finland, while zigzag clover grows in south Finland (Kasviatlas 2019a & b).
References- ESCAA (2019) European Seed Certification Agencies Association. Statistics of seed production in EU.
- Kasviatlas (2019a) Geographical distribution of red clover (Trifolium pratensis) in Finland: http://koivu.luomus.fi/kasviatlas/maps.php?taxon=42108 In: Lampinen, R. & Lahti, T. (2019)
- Kasviatlas (2019b) Geographical distribution of zigzag clover (Trifolium medium) in Finland: http://koivu.luomus.fi/kasviatlas/maps.php?taxon=42110 In: Lampinen, R. & Lahti, T. (2019) Kasviatlas 20 http://koivu.luomus.fi/kasviatlas/maps.php?taxon=4211018. Helsinki University, Natural History Museum (Luomus). Helsinki. Distribution atlas of Finland's vascular plants. URL: http://koivu.luomus.fi/kasviatlas/
- Luontoportti (2019a) NatureGate. Red Clover http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kukkakasvit/red-clover
- Luontoportti (2019b) NatureGate. Zigzag Clover http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kukkakasvit/zigzag-clover
Landraces
| Name | Added values | |
| Perttuli | External support, Listed in a register | View detail |