peratures as low as 48 C. for short periods. Most varieties of clover grown 

 in the northern United States are rather resistant to low temperatures. 5 



In various parts of the world, clovers have been used as food by mankind. 

 During famines in Ireland, for example, the dried flowers and seeds of white 

 clover were ground into flour and made into bread. In the Eastern and South- 

 ern States the poorer Negro families eat several species raw as a salad with 

 vinegar as a dressing. Clover was also an essential article in the diets of 

 certain Indian tribes. Before the flowers appeared they gathered the fresh 

 green leaves and ate them with relish. Clover eaten green often was a source 

 of bloat among the Indians and sometimes even caused death. 8 



Clovers have trifoliolate leaves and numerous small pealike flowers in a 

 dense head. The flowers bend downward, dry, and turn brown, sometimes 

 remaining on the heads throughout the season. These inflorescence characters, 

 coupled with the absence of coiling and curving of the pods, make it easy to 

 distinguish clorers from medicks (Medicago spp.). Clover seed pods invariably 

 are small, usually containing but a single small kidney-shaped seed. 



White clover (T. re' pens), a perennial with creeping stems which root at 

 the joints, was introduced from Europe but now occurs naturally on fairly 

 moist soils of the mountain ranges at medium to high elevations. It withstands 

 greater temperature extremes than either red or alsike clover and is suited 

 to rather cool, moist regions, being quite tolerant to shade. This clover is 

 relished highly by all livestock. It is extremely nutritious, withstands trampling 

 well, and is stimulated to stronger growth by close grazing. White clover is 

 rich in readily accessible nectar and hence is of considerable economic value to 

 beekeepers. 



Alsike clover (T. hy'bridum), a perennial introduced from Europe, escaped 

 from cultivation and is now found growing along roads, streams, and meadows 

 in the mountains. It prefers moist soils and will thrive on poorly drained 

 lands or even heavy soils. This clover is not usually grown alone for hay 

 because of its decumbent, spreading habit, but is usually cultivated in mixture 

 with such grasses as timothy and redtop. Alsike clover, although not as pala- 

 table as certain other species, is. nevertheless highly nutritious and, apparently, 

 does not cause bloat as readily as do some other clovers. This plant is really 

 not a hybrid between red and white clover, as is commonly supposed. The 

 flowers are rose-colored when mature and white when immature, thus the 

 mature lower flowers of the head are rose-colored and the upper immature 

 flowers white. The whole head becomes rose-colored only after all the flowers 

 have matured. 



Red clover (T. praten'se), because of its shorter life, lack of rootstocks, 

 coarser habit, and greater susceptibility to disease, both from fungi and insects, 

 is not of as much range importance as either white or alsike clovers. Never- 

 theless it is valuable locally, and its soil-improvement capabilities render it 

 a desirable plant where it occurs. The agricultural significance of this species 

 is, of course, enormous. Westgate and Hillman state : 7 "Red clover may 

 justly be styled the corner stone of agriculture in the North Central and Eastern 

 States." Stebler and Schroter affirm that "Red clover has contributed even 

 more to the progress of agriculture than the potato itself, and has had no incon- 

 siderable influence on European civilization. Its cultivation has led to an 

 increased production of stock as food for man and in this way has fostered 

 and advanced commerce, industry, and science." 8 Bumblebees and a few of 

 the butterflies are the only insects with a proboscis long enough to reach the 

 nectar at the bottom of the flower tube. Since the honeybee brushes past 

 the stigma of the pistil in collecting pollen for bee bread, it is important in the 

 fertilization of the clover flowers. The dried flowers of red clover were for- 

 merly reputed to be good for whooping cough and ulcers, but their medicinal 

 use seems to be no longer official. 



5 Steinbauer, G. DIFPRRENCES IN RESISTANCE TO LOW TEMPERATURES SHOWN BY 

 CLOVER VARIETIES. Plant Physiol. 1(3) : 281-286, illus. 1926. 



6 Chesnut, V. K. PLANTS USED BY THE INDIANS OF MENDOCINO COUNTY. CALIFORNIA. 

 U. S. Dept. Agr., Div. Bot., Contrib. TJ. S. Natl. Herbarium 7 : 295--422, illus. 1902. 



7 Westgate, J. M.. and Hillman, F. H. RED CLOVER. U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bull. 

 455, 48 pp., illus. 1911. 



8 Stebler, F. G., and Schroter, C. THE BEST FORAGE PLANTS FULLY DESCRIBED AND 

 FIGURED . . . TransL by A. N. McAlpine. 171 pp., illus. London. 1889. 



