Trifolium hybridum
{{Short description|Plant species in the pea family}}
{{redirect|Alsike|the Swedish locality|Alsike, Sweden|the Canadian locality|Alsike, Alberta}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Alsike clover
| image = Trifolium hybridum inflorescence - Keila.jpg
| image_caption =
| genus = Trifolium
| species = hybridum
| authority = L.
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = {{Species list
| Trifolium hybridum subsp. anatolicum | (Boiss.) M.Hossain
| Trifolium hybridum subsp. elegans | (Savi) Asch. & Graebn.
| Trifolium hybridum subsp. hybridum |
}}
| synonyms_ref = {{cite POWO |id=30240399-2 |title=Trifolium hybridum L. |access-date=29 August 2024}}
| synonyms = {{Collapsible list | {{Species list
| Amoria hybrida | (L.) C.Presl (1831)
| Trifolium elegans subsp. hybridum | (L.) Bonnier & Layens (1894)
}}
}}
}}
Trifolium hybridum, the alsike clover,{{PLANTS|id=TRHY|taxon=Trifolium hybridum|accessdate=15 December 2015}} is a species of flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae. The stalked, pale pink or whitish flower head grows from the leaf axils, and the trifoliate leaves are unmarked. The plant is up to {{convert|40|cm|ft|sigfig=2}} tall,{{cite book|last1=Blamey|first1=M.|last2=Fitter|first2=R.|last3=Fitter|first3=A|year=2003|title=Wild flowers of Britain and Ireland: The Complete Guide to the British and Irish Flora.|publisher=A & C Black|location=London|isbn=978-1408179505}}{{rp|152}} and is found in fields and on roadsides – it is also grown as fodder (hay or silage). It has been linked with toxicity in horses and has some agricultural uses. The plant blooms from spring to autumn (April to October in the northern hemisphere).Lee Peterson, Roger Tory Peterson, Lee Allen Peterson, A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1978, c1977. 330 p. (The Peterson field guide series, no. 23):
pp 56, 124. [https://books.google.com/books?id=tFhCes5YUngC&dq=%22A+Field+Guide+to+Edible+Wild+Plants+of+Eastern+and+Central+North+America%22&pg=PP11 Google Books] Originating in mainland Europe, it has become established as an introduced plant in the British IslesC. A. Stace, Interactive Flora of the British Isles, a Digital Encyclopaedia: Trifolium hybridum. {{ISBN|90-75000-69-3}}. ([http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/bis/flora.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=2960 Online version)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608014308/http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/bis/flora.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=2960 |date=2011-06-08 }} and throughout the temperate regions of the world.A R Clapham, T G Tutin, E F Warburg, Flora of the British Isles, Cambridge, 1962, p 341
History
File:Trifolium hybridum - roosa (rootsi) ristik.jpg
Despite its scientific name, alsike clover is not of hybrid origin. The plant gets its common name from the town of Alsike in Sweden from which Linnaeus first described it. He thought it was a cross between white clover (T. repens) and red clover (T. pratense), but in this he was mistaken and it is a separate species.[http://www.animalrangeextension.montana.edu/articles/forage/species/legumes/alsikeclover.htm Publications & Information: Alsike Clover] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230123657/http://animalrangeextension.montana.edu/articles/forage/Species/Legumes/Alsikeclover.htm |date=2012-12-30 }}. Montana State University.Clark, G. H. (1913). [http://chestofbooks.com/flora-plants/weeds/Fodder-Pasture-Plants/Alsike-Clover-Trifolium-Hybridum-L.html Fodder and Pasture Plants.] Canada Dept. of Agriculture.
Description
Alsike clover is a perennial plant with a semi-erect, sparsely branched, grooved stem, hairy in its upper regions. The leaves are alternate and stalked with small stipules. The leaves have three blunt-tipped ovate, unspotted leaflets with finely toothed margins. The inflorescence has a long stalk and is densely globose. The individual florets have a five-lobed calyx and an irregular corolla consisting of five pink petals, one upstanding "standard", two lateral "wings" and the lower two fused to form a "keel". There are ten stamens and a single carpal.{{cite web |url=http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kukkakasvit/alsike-clover |title=Alsike Clover |publisher=NatureGate |accessdate=2013-12-24}}
Distribution and habitat
Alsike clover is native to much of southern Europe and southwestern Asia, especially in mountainous regions. It is widely cultivated and used as a forage crop and for this purpose the subspecies T. h. hybridum is used and this has become naturalised further north in Europe and in other parts of the world. Its natural habitat is fields, meadows, roadsides, banks and waste ground. When added to seed mixtures, it seldom persists once the sward has closed up.{{cite web |url=http://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/index.php?q=node/2190 |title=Trifolium hybridum (Alsike Clover) |work=Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora |accessdate=2013-12-24}}
Use in horticulture and agriculture
Trifolium Hybridum has been found to quickly lower the pH of soil, increasing its viable area of reproduction,Paplauskienė, V., & Dabkevičienė, G. (2012). [http://zemdirbyste-agriculture.lt/99(3)tomas/99_3_tomas_str12.pdf A study of genetic diversity in Trifolium hybridum varieties using morphological characters and ISSR markers]. Žemdirbystė–Agriculture, 99, 313-318. whilst reducing the bio-density of weeds by up to 57%.{{Cite journal |last=Ross |first=Shirley M. |last2=King |first2=Jane R. |last3=Izaurralde |first3=R.César |last4=O'Donovan |first4=John T. |date=July 2001 |title=Weed Suppression by Seven Clover Species |journal=Agronomy Journal |language=en |volume=93 |issue=4 |pages=820–827 |doi=10.2134/agronj2001.934820x |issn=0002-1962}} Under the right conditions it may become invasive unless properly managed.{{cite web |title=ALSIKE CLOVER |work=Plant Fact Sheet/Guide |publisher=National Plant Data Center |url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/plantmaterials/idpmcpg8306.pdf}} With regard to inbreeding, it was found that there were disadvantageous changes to height, persistence, and vigor unless selectively bred for said traits.{{Cite journal |last=Townsend |first=C. E. |last2=Remmenga |first2=E. E. |date=March–April 1968 |title=Inbreeding in Tetraploid Alsike Clover, Trifolium bybridum L. |journal=Crop Science |language=en |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=213–217 |doi=10.2135/cropsci1968.0011183X000800020024x |issn=0011-183X}}
Toxicity
There is limited evidence of Trifolium Hybridum having toxic effects on horses including photosensitization and Alsike clover poisoning. Photosensitivity in horses, also known as alsike rash, is a reversible condition in which the mechanism is unknown.{{Cite journal |last=Nation |first=P. Nicholas |date=May 1989 |journal=Can Vet J |volume=30 |issue=5 |pages=410–5 |title=Alsike clover poisoning: A review |pmid=17423321 |pmc=1681272}} A diet in equestrians of at least 20% Trifolium Hybridum over the course of four weeks could lead to poisoning which includes deleterious neurological effects and liver failure. The active toxin is unknown.{{cite book |chapter=Alsike Clover ( Trifolium hybridum ) |date=19 September 2021 |title=Blackwell's Five‐Minute Veterinary Consult Clinical Companion |pages=259–264 |editor-last=Hovda |editor-first=Lynn R. |edition=1st |publisher=Wiley |language=en |doi=10.1002/9781119671527.ch51 |isbn=978-1-119-67149-7 |editor2-last=Benson |editor2-first=Dionne |editor3-last=Poppenga |editor3-first=Robert H.}} The plant can irritate skin if handled.{{Cite book |last=Reiner |first=Ralph E. |title=Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies |publisher=Glacier Park, Inc. |year=1969 |pages=122}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Commons category|Trifolium hybridum}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q159745}}