Meadow clover: properties and contraindications, cultivation

Clover Is the main forage plant that widely used in animal husbandry... The plant almost completely suppresses weeds, it is added to various feeds, regulates the biological fixation of nitrogen in the soil, as well as used in landscape design as a natural grass cover for large areas.

The characteristics and properties of clover directly depend on the plant variety. Some species are more tolerant of certain climates, soil types and require different care. Before you start growing clover, you need to decide on its purpose. In this article, we will consider the most popular varieties of clover, its beneficial properties, reproduction and care rules.

general information

A characteristic feature of this, as it turned out, a magnificent plant is that the pollinating insects, and the only ones, are bumblebees.

Almost all species of this plant are pubescent meadows, quite resistant to trampling, pleasing to the eye with their flowering from the very beginning of summer to autumn.

The flowers of the porridge are pretty and therefore are often used to create perennial lawns and lawns. The story will go here about these useful and beautiful plants.

And to imagine what they look like, you just have to remember the popular name. This is the same porridge plant that many people tasted in childhood, tearing off individual flowers from a spherical inflorescence. Thanks to the nectar hidden inside at the foot of the petal, they have a pleasant sweetish taste.

Many people are familiar with the porridge flower. He has more than one name: woodpecker, redhead, woodpecker, red carpet, honey cake, fever grass, honey blossom, meadow trefoil, bee porridge, cuckoo bread, bee bread and many others - all these are folk options.

Of course, many plants are popularly called porridge, especially during their flowering. But here we are talking about clover.

The use of white clover in landscape design

1. Lawn creation
2. Creating flowering lawns on a lawn from a regular grass mixture
3. Decorating tree trunks
4. Tinning of garden rows and paths between beds
5. Create a flowering border along the paths, sowing between the paving slabs

Clover lawn in landscape design

Clover between the slabs

Clover lawn landscape

Description

Kashka (flower, photo of which is presented in the article) is a genus of plants from the legume family. In total, it has approximately 250 species. These herbaceous plants can be either one or perennial. Their rhizomes grow stiff with age, and the flowers are collected in a small round head. Each ripe small bean contains only two seeds.

There is another important feature of clover. At the roots of this plant, small tubers develop, which arise due to a special bacterium (Bacillus radicicola). In this regard, the soil is absorbed from the atmosphere of free nitrogen. Therefore, clover belongs to the plants that contribute to the good enrichment of the soil with the necessary and important fertilizer.

Porridge flowers in nature are white, red, pink and other colors.

Bob is a clover fruit that is typical of the entire family. It consists of two folding leaves with seeds contained inside them. Thanks to them, porridge multiplies well.With their help, this plant can be cultivated both in personal plots and in gardens.

Planting a clover lawn

Unfortunately, it is impossible to order a rolled lawn from clover because of the too powerful root system. Therefore, clover lawns can only be obtained by sowing. Preparing the soil for laying a clover lawn is carried out in the same way as for a conventional grass mixture: you need to dig up the area, remove the roots of perennial weeds from the soil, roll the surface with a roller to compact the soil layer and level the surface (read the details in our special article).

The white clover lawn does not tolerate the increased acidity of the soil, in this case it is necessary to deoxidize it - add lime or dolomite flour.

If the site is heavily infested with dandelions and other weeds, then before digging it is advisable to treat it with continuous herbicide preparations, for example, Roundup.

Clover seeds are very small, so you shouldn't sow it in windy weather. The seeding rate is 2.5-3 kg per one hundred square meters. Sowing of clover is carried out randomly with an overlap, but not thickening: clover grows quickly, it needs free space for this.

The main condition for friendly seedlings is good pre-sowing watering of the soil and shallow seeding. On heavy soils, seeds are sealed no deeper than 0.5 cm, on light soils - no deeper than 1 cm. You can not close the seeds with a rake, but lightly sprinkle them with a thin layer of sand. For even sowing, the seeds are mixed with sand or raw sawdust.

In order not to spread the seeds on your feet throughout the site, plastic bags are put on the shoes. If after sowing there is no rain for a long time, the plantings must be watered with a fine spray.

At an air temperature of 18-20 degrees, seedlings appear in 5-6 days, at a temperature of 14-16 degrees - in 6-8 days.

Clover lawn - an alternative to traditional

Learn more about varieties

There are different types of clover for growing in gardens:

• The mountain has flowers similar to those of a creeping clover. But this is not a creeping, but an erect tall plant.
• Meadow clover blooms with red flowers, but with leaves with a whitish corner in the shape of the letter "L".
• Medium clover is very similar to meadow clover, but its leaves are more elongated and without any special signs in the form of a letter, like in the aforementioned species.
• The hybrid has an original color of flowers: they are whitish at the base, and pink or red on top.

There are many other types in Europe: white creeping clover, Swedish, pink, red (or bloody), yellow and others. Below we describe in more detail some of the most famous and common.

Pros and cons of clover lawn

Pros of white clover:

1. undemanding to care
2. resistance to disease and trampling
3. cut grass can be used as mulch for other plants or go to feed animals and poultry

Minuses:

1. after a haircut it loses its decorative effect for several days
2. attracts dangerous insects (bees, bumblebees)
3. self-seeding is spread throughout the site
4. after rain, due to the large surface of the leaves, it dries for a long time and can be slippery (not suitable for active games)

White porridge

The flower, which is found more often than others, is creeping clover (with creeping shoots). This is a perennial herb with alternate leaves, consisting of 3 leaves.

The flowers of this porridge are white, enclosed in a five-toothed tubular calyx, have a slight pinkish tint. The two lower petals, fused at the sides, form something like a boat, and the other two are located on the sides like oars, and the third hangs like a sail. It is this structure of the flower that is characteristic of many species from the legume family.

Flowers of this species are collected in inflorescences of several pieces on the shoot, in connection with which the lawn with blooming white clover looks amazingly beautiful. In addition to all of the above, this porridge is also famous for its rather pleasant honey aroma.

Creeping clover is undersized, so it grows well among tall plants, forming a soft and delicate continuous carpet under them.

Care

Seedling care.

In the first year, the clover lawn is not very decorative and does not bloom. Its main enemies are weeds. If the area was not treated with Roundup before laying the lawn, then regular manual weeding or spot treatment of weeds with herbicides is necessary (applied to the plant with a paint brush). On germination, clover can be treated with Lemur, Bazagran, Agritox, Agristar preparations.

For spring planting, mowing the lawn in the first year is not required, but regular watering is necessary.

In the second year, the clover grows well, filling almost all the voids, its root system is strengthened, the plant begins to bloom. When you reach a height of 10 cm, it is recommended to cut for the first time.

After cutting, there are often sticking out stems of the plant, but after a couple of days new young leaves appear and the clover lawn takes on a beautiful appearance again.

The mowing frequency depends on the purpose of the lawn. If the lawn is functional, then it should be mowed more often, since the flowering heads attract bumblebees and bees, the risk of being stung increases. If clover plantings perform exclusively decorative functions, then they can be cut less often, as the inflorescences begin to dry out and turn brown. After shearing, the plants grow back quickly and begin to bloom again.

The lawn looks neater when mowed with a lawn mower. But if the clover has grown too much, its juicy stems can jam the knives, especially low-powered electric lawn mowers suffer from this. The optimum height for a clover lawn is 6 cm.

Clover lawn care after winter.

In the spring, you can find a partial loss of plants. Most often this happens if the variety is not sufficiently winter-hardy for the growing region.

Small bald patches can not be repaired, since the creeping clover grows very quickly. If there are a lot of voids, then it is necessary to sow seeds in these places. Sow superficially, sprinkling with a small layer of earth and sand.

Microclover

Pink porridge

The flower (Swedish clover) has a beautiful delicate pink color. It is a biennial plant, but a perennial is more common. Bright green stems are branched, about 30 to 90 centimeters high.

The elliptical leaves are light to dark green in color. The flowers are painted in pink-white and white shades, collected in a spherical rounded head. The plant blooms in June and July.

Contraindications, side effects

It is undesirable to use products with plant extract without medical supervision.

In case of an overdose and interaction with a number of drugs, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, stomach pain, a sharp decrease in pressure, and skin rashes are noted. Long-term intake of herbal infusions leads to hormonal imbalances and problems in the sexual and reproductive spheres.

Check the regimen with your healthcare provider. Internal use of herbal remedies is contraindicated in the following cases:

• period of gestation and lactation;
• oncology of hormone-dependent forms;
• blood diseases, a tendency to thrombosis;
• severe arterial hypotension;
• pathology of the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, liver in the acute phase;
• suffered strokes and heart attacks;
• children under 3 years old;
• individual intolerance of the components that make up the plant.

When used correctly and in accordance with the recommended proportions and dosages, clover is a natural, safe means of maintaining and promoting health.

About the miraculous red porridge

The most useful and widely cultivated is the red clover. It grows throughout Siberia, as well as in Europe. It is an excellent forage plant, the cultivation culture of which appeared in the sixteenth century.

Red clover is especially known as a cancer protector. It is often recommended by herbalists for breast, lymphatic and ovarian cancers. It is used in the treatment of oncological diseases in many countries of the world.

In addition, red porridge is a flower that has a diuretic, expectorant, emollient, diaphoretic, antiseptic and excellent anti-inflammatory effect. Flowers are also used for anemia, cough, rheumatism, malaria, colds and other diseases.

The effectiveness of clover has been proven for various skin diseases: childhood eczema and psoriasis. It is also used for gynecological diseases.

Useful properties of clover

In addition to the use of clover in agriculture, the plant is widely used in other areas of human life, namely:

• Red clover is used for cancer prevention, indigestion, lowering high cholesterol, treating whooping cough, cough, asthma, bronchitis, and even some sexually transmitted diseases.
• In gynecology clover is used to relieve the symptoms of menapause, as well as for PMS.
• Stretching the clover well helps with burns and chronic skin diseases: eczema, psoriasis, skin cancer.
• In food products, concentrated juice squeezed from some varieties of clover is used as a food ingredient.

Attention: clover contains hormone-like chemicals called isoflavones that cause reproductive problems in many animals. The effect of these substances on the human body is not fully understood. But do not use this plant for self-medication.

Similar articles:

Four-leaf clover - meaning, how and where to find, ...

Types of Hibiscus Pruning - A Guide to Correct ...

Night violet - a detailed description of the plant, ...

Fluffy yellow clover

All of the above types of porridge do not exhaust the huge variety of native species of this plant genus. You should also pay attention to representatives with sunny golden flowers. These include perennial clovers that are very similar to each other: rustling, plain and dark-colored. All of them, like the aforementioned species, grow in nature on forest edges, meadows and glades. The cutest of these cereals is plowed clover (in the folklore - "seals"). It is a small annual plant, heavily pubescent with delicate soft hairs.

When to sow clover?

Spring sowing.

There are two ways to sow clover in the spring, you can use any of them.

1. On the prepared surface, clover can be sown "on a shard" - in the early spring morning, when the snow has not completely melted and freezes at night with a thin crust. The seeds are sown without embedding directly on the crust of ice. When the temperature rises during the day, the crust melts and, together with the water, small seeds are drawn into the soil.
2. In April, when the average air temperature is around + 10 + 13 degrees, you can sow clover in the usual way with shallow planting of seeds in the ground. In this case, it is necessary to monitor the moisture content of the soil.

Autumn sowing.

Sowing is carried out in late August - early September, so that the clover has time to sprout and root well before frost.

Winter sowing.

In this case, it is necessary to guess exactly with the sowing date, so that the seeds do not have time to sprout, but overwinter in the ground. Seedlings appear in early spring. The seed rate for podzimny sowing is doubled.

Instead of a regular lawn

Something from history

An excellent clinical effect was achieved in the treatment of a wide variety of diseases with the help of red clover in ancient China, as well as in America (more than a hundred years ago). It has long been used to treat diseases of the gallbladder, intestines, liver, gout.

Both its leaves and flowers have long been used in alternative medicine as a source of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, chromium, phosphorus and vitamins A, B, C. Red clover perfectly cleanses the lymph and blood, normalizes the outflow of bile and the activity of the entire intestine.

How clover reproduces

Clover, regardless of the species, has only two purposes - use as a soil cover, and as fodder for grazing. It is very rarely used to restore the soil where cultivated plants are grown. In all other cases, the trefoil is considered a weed, since the speed of its spread over the earth's surface is simply colossal.

Clover reproduces in two ways... The first one sends the stolons root processes in all directions. The second option is seed reproduction. Each of the methods is used for specific purposes.

Reproduction by stolons

As a rule, if you look closely at a clearing with clover, you can easily find mother plantwhich sends to the sides small root processes, stolons... After a certain time, the connecting roots die off, and the new plant begins to exist independently, regardless of the parent plant. Exactly such shoots can be transplanted to another place, filling empty spaces on the lawn or in the garden... In general, this type of reproduction is similar to the division of the rhizome.

• Find a healthy, mature mother plant that has plenty of leaves and flowers.
• Look closely at the base of the clover and find stolons - stems or pieces of roots that branch out from the base of the mother plant.
• Sometimes the hair-like roots can go underground, but not deep, so that they can be easily excavated by hand.
• Using pruning shears or sharp scissors, separate the stolon from the mother plant. Quite often, the thickness of the root branches is insignificant and can be easily broken by hand. But be careful not to damage the mother bush.
• To ensure stable growth and rapid establishment of the new plant, place the roots in a special nutrient solution for a short time.
• Plant the separated clover in a new location in moist soil, compact the soil a little and water abundantly.

Seed propagation

Clover seeds will grow much better and faster if they don't have to compete with weeds initially.

• Before sowing seeds, be sure to remove all weeds, stones and other debris from the area. Dig up the soil to a depth of 20 cm.
• After plowing the ground, you need to wait 2-3 days to see if the roots of weeds remaining in the ground show growth. If there are any, remove them. This will reduce competition and give the clover the best chance of germinating.
• Clover seeds are very small and lightweight. Mix them with dry sand or other free-flowing medium such as dry fertilizers. This way, when scattered, the seeds will not immediately fly away from the wind. The seed concentration should be approximately 60 g per 100 square meters. But this is an individual indicator for each variety, carefully read the recommendations on the package with seeds. / Li>
• Spread the seeds to the required area, pasture, or lawn using any method (manual or machine) available to you.
• Remember, clover seeds will not germinate if buried underground. They should always be on the surface. The only thing to protect the seeds from birds is to crush them to the ground with a small roller.
• After sowing, water the entire area abundantly. Water regularly, daily until the first shoots appear.

As a rule, the first shoots are shown above the ground after 2-3 weeks, the main thing is to maintain a sufficient level of humidity.

Inflorescences and flowers

Many people confuse the inflorescence with flowers, for example, the red cap of a clover is an inflorescence called a head.

Inflorescence is small flowers located quite close to each other. Their advantage is that they are easier to spot by insects. The efficiency of pollination increases from this. Distinguish between complex or simple inflorescences. Clover has the latter and is represented by:

• Head. The thick main axis is slightly shortened, at the top of which flowers on short pedicels are located in a tight bunch.
• With a brush. Small pedicels one after another depart from a common axis, and at their ends there are flowers.

Contraindications to use

Despite the fact that clover has a positive effect on the body, it has its own contraindications, which are important to consider before using such medicines. It is forbidden to use it for the following group of people:

• at any stage of pregnancy;
• breastfeeding period;
• estrogen-dependent tumor;
• violation of the stool (diarrhea);
• stomach problems;
• heart disease.

As a rule, medications containing clover are well tolerated, people do not feel side effects. However, sometimes allergic reactions may appear, which appear solely due to the individual intolerance of the body.

Growth halo

The herbaceous culture spread over the territory of North Africa, Minor, Western and Central Asia and almost all of Europe. In addition, creeping clover can be found in tropical parts of South Africa, Asia and, less commonly, New Zealand and Australia. In Russia, the plant lives in the European part of the country, in the Caucasus, the vastness of Siberia and the Far East.

Creeping clover prefers to germinate in fields and meadows, near roads and water bodies, in pastures and household plots.

The plant often fills the cultivated land, so farmers classify it as a weed. It loves moisture and light, and is resistant to frost. Gardeners sometimes plant clover to decorate their flower beds. It quickly spreads throughout the territory, does not allow other weeds to appear and is unpretentious in care.

Procurement and storage

For the treatment of various diseases, stems with leaves and inflorescences are collected. A full collection must be carried out during the flowering period of the plant. The plucked chestnut is smoothed out in a thin layer and dried, it is best to do this in the shade. If the raw materials are dried indoors, then fresh air must regularly enter it so that the plants are not covered with mold and rot. The finished raw materials are stored in containers that are tightly closed. The shelf life of clover is no more than a year, then the plant loses its properties.

Important! When harvesting clover, it is necessary to pluck the plant with the upper leaves, so it will completely retain all its medicinal components.

Diseases and pests

Clover is quite susceptible to the development of various pathologies. So, various varieties of shamrock can acquire pathologies such as:

• fusarium;
• rust;
• anthracnose;
• brown spotting;
• cancer.

When symptoms of pathology appear in the culture, it is necessary to eliminate the affected parts of the grass in a short time. To prevent diseases, plants are sprayed annually with fungicidal solutions. It is possible to prevent the development of some ailments if weeding is carried out in a timely manner and the elementary rules for caring for the crop are observed. Viral pathologies that affect the plant are almost impossible to eliminate. Therefore, such shamrocks are dug up and burned. Neighboring crops are treated with fertilizers.

Among the pests that often infect various varieties of clover, moths, phytomonus, weevils and seed eaters are noted. Such plants suck sap from parts of the grass and damage the aboveground parts of the crop.The culture is not highly resistant, therefore, in order to eliminate pests, preventive spraying with insecticides is carried out.

Plant propagation

Clover reproduces in two ways:

1. through seeds;
2. vegetatively: lets out rooting shoots, which is why it is called creeping.

The seeds are easy to pick by yourself:

• pluck the largest withered flowers;
• peel seeds;
• dried in a warm, dry place, protected from direct sunlight;
• placed in a box or cloth bag for storage.

The seeds of plants that have reached the age of 2 or more years have the best germination.

Biology and development

Creeping clover - perennial plant. Seed and vegetative propagation (by rooting shoots). It is undemanding to soil conditions, but it develops better on clay and loamy soils rich in calcium and organic matter with a pH of 5.5 - 7. It grows poorly on dry and acidic soils. The species is moisture-loving, withstands long-term, up to 30 days, flooding, sufficiently drought-resistant, photophilous, cold-resistant.

Seedlings appear in spring. It usually blooms in the second year of development. The flowering phase is observed from mid-April (in the southern areas of the range) or from the end of May (to the north) until autumn. Fruiting in July - October. One plant can give up to 10410 seeds that remain viable for 2 - 3 years. (Medvedev P.F., 1981) (Keller B.A., 1934) (Trukhachev V.I., 2006)

Effective recipes for cholesterol and other diseases based on porridge

Meadow clover for cholesterol is a unique remedy that is famous all over the world. With proper preparation of the drug in a fairly short period of time, you can forget about the problem without the use of expensive medicines.

Clover tincture

Since ancient times, this culture has been used for cleaning blood vessels. One of the most popular remedies is clover infusion with vodka. To prepare such a drink, you can use both fresh and dry flowers of the culture.

Required Ingredients:

Put clover flowers in a two-liter jar and fill them with liquid. The resulting mixture must be kept in a dark place for 2 weeks. At the end of the time, the liquid will need to be filtered and then refrigerated. Everyone can drink such an infusion, but adhering to certain dosages. First of all, this applies to elderly people. It is necessary to drink alcoholic tincture once a day before meals. The course of treatment is 30 days. Then you should take a break for 10 days and resume therapy again.

Clover tincture with alcohol has a tonic and calming effect.

It is useful to take this remedy in the spring season. It is at this time that the human body needs vitamins.

Sweet cholesterol medicine

To prepare such a remedy, you need to purchase clover honey at the pharmacy. To do this, you need to take 30 g of a delicacy and 10 ml of fresh lemon juice. Mix the components thoroughly to obtain a homogeneous mass. Store the medicine in the refrigerator.

Clover honey can lower blood pressure.

Take the composition every day before lunch. The course of treatment is one month. Clover honey is a very beneficial remedy. It is a natural antioxidant that quickly lowers cholesterol levels and restores the health of the circulatory system.

Clover decoction

To prepare the remedy, you must use the flowers and leaves of young plants. This is one of the most popular recipes used all over the world.

For cooking you need:

• 5 grams of flowers;
• 5 grams of leaves;
• 200 mg of boiling water.

Mix all components. Infuse the composition for 60 minutes. Then discard the mixture in a colander or strain with gauze. The infusion is taken 3 times a day, 20 mg at a time. It should be drunk exclusively before meals.The course of treatment should be 3 weeks.

To make the remedy as effective as possible, it is recommended to store the tincture for no more than 2 days in a cold place.

Infusion of clover for diseases of the genitourinary system

This remedy perfectly copes with kidney pathologies, as well as with painful menstruation.

For the broth, you need to prepare:

• two teaspoons of dried flowers;
• 200 mg of water.

Boil the liquid and place the herb in it. Infuse the product for 35 minutes. Takes 20 mg liquid 3 times a day. It is recommended to drink the infusion half an hour before meals.

Read also: How to remove hornets from a summer cottage or apiary

To eliminate unpleasant symptoms with menopause, you will need to brew 3 tablespoons with a slide of flowers in 200 mg of water. Insist for an hour, after which you can start drinking. Drink 4 times a day, 0.5 cups before meals.

Clover for headaches

Often this symptom can be caused by the pathology of the endocrine system and malfunctioning of the vessels of the brain. To get rid of headaches and noises, you should brew oregano, linden flowers, clover, St. John's wort, currants, strawberries. Use all components in equal parts. Take in small amounts with jam or honey.

There is also another, no less effective recipe for headaches. To prepare it, you need to take a liter jar filled with clover, and pour vodka on top. Close the container tightly and keep in this state for two weeks. Take one tablespoon at bedtime. For such a tincture, you can use not only flowers, but also other parts of the plant. After 30 days, hearing will improve significantly, and noises will no longer disturb.

Meadow clover is a really effective and popular remedy. But, despite all its positive aspects, it is recommended to consult a doctor before preparing and using the infusions.

Video about the medicinal properties of clover

Mountain

The shrub has a tap root system, the plant height ranges from 20 to 60 cm.

Stipules have an ovoid, leathery structure. The foliage is petioled and has an elliptical shape.

The inflorescence is represented by the head, usually there are 2 of them on the stem. The size of the flower is 7-9 mm, their location is the axils of the bracts. Countries where clover grows include Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan.

Cup-shaped

The types of clover are quite diverse, but cup clover is quite common. The height of its stem is 30-50 cm. The leaves have long petioles, 3 leaves are located on them. The leaflets are obovate or elliptical.

The inflorescence is represented by a head located on the legs, the length of which is 3-7 cm. Each inflorescence has 5-12 flowers. The corolla has a pale pink color. The cup grass is a legume that has 2 seeds.

Meadow clover: description of the plant, characteristics and application (with photo)

Shrub perennial. It is worth starting a description of the meadow clover plant with the fact that it is a valuable fodder plant for the forest and forest-steppe zone. Plant height 40–65 cm, sometimes up to 1 m. The root system is pivotal. The characteristic of meadow clover is based on the fact that it has a large number of lateral roots located in the soil horizon up to 50 cm. The main taproot deepens 1–1.5 m. Nodules form on the roots, where bacteria assimilate nitrogen from the air, enriching the soil with it. Branching shoots are formed from the upper part of the main root (tillering zone or root collar).

We will continue the description of meadow clover by the fact that the main stem is shortened, has many basal leaves, from the axils of which flowering stems emerge. Stems are ribbed, filled or hollow, pubescent. Bushes of a semi-wrecked or wobbly shape.

Leaves are compound, trifoliate, with a white spot in the middle of the leaf blades.The shape of the leaf lobes is round or obovate. Leaf blades are entire, pubescent, especially on the underside. The color of the leaves is from bright to dark green. Stipules are ovoid, pointed, scarious, slightly pubescent, fused with the leaf petiole.

Flowers are collected in inflorescences - heads, round or oval, bright red or red-purple in color. The heads are sessile, the leaves extend from their base. Flowers with a green calyx and a five-petal corolla, moth structure. One pistil, 10 stamens. Cross pollination. The fruit is one or less often two-seeded pod. The seeds are irregularly bean-shaped, 1.8–2.3 mm in size, the length of the root is less than half the length of the cotyledon, the root departs at an angle of 45 ° to the cotyledon. Seed color from light yellow to dark brown, heterogeneous. The mass of 1 thousand seeds is 1.6–1.8 g. The average number of seeds per 1 kg is 550–580 thousand.

Meadow clover is divided into two main types: single-cut (late maturing) and two-cut (early maturing).

In the Southern Urals, mainly one-cut type of clover grows, characterized by a winter type of development. It is more durable and winter hardy than early maturing clover. Early ripe clover is a spring type plant.

Red clover pollinated only by bumblebees, its flower is too long for the bee to reach the columns with its short proboscis, although they sometimes get nectar, but only small flowers are pollinated. The Americans bred bees with longer proboscis by selection, but they did not receive much distribution.

The use of meadow clover is possible as feed for cattle or in cooking as a vitamin supplement. The herb of this type of clover contains up to 14% soluble sugars. Clover leaves and young shoots are used as lettuce or spinach. Dried and crushed leaves are ground into flour and added to bread, which increases its nutritional value, such bread is a dietary product. In addition to sugars, the green mass of clover contains up to 25% protein, about 5.6% fat, and the protein is contained in an easily digestible form.

Look at meadow clover in the photo, which shows the different stages of growth and development of crops in the fields:

Origin

It is interesting that the clover known to us has a very ancient history. He was mentioned in their writings by Pliny and Columella. The homeland of clover is the Mediterranean. Cultivation of clover began in Italy and Spain in the XIV century, the reason was the introduction of a multi-field crop rotation with grass sowing. In the 17th century, the plant reached England, in the 18th century - to Germany. At the same time, it began to grow in Russia, but at first attempts were unsuccessful due to the difference in climate. However, later the clover did take root. Photos of the clover plant are easy to find on the Internet.

Homeland of clover

There are many traditions and beliefs associated with clover. Three-leaf clover symbol of the Trinity, protects from the evil eye, damage. Clover is believed to bring happiness and good fortune. June 18 - Day of the search for four-leaf clover. On this day, everyone who believes in omens can look for a clover flower with four leaves, and if he finds it, he will be lucky in everything and happiness, as well as people who are next to the lucky one.

In Ireland, clover is considered the flower of St. Patrick - the most revered saint in this country and, in fact, a national symbol.

In the USA and Germany, it is customary to give a pot with a four-leaf clover on the first days of the New Year. Some floriculture companies successfully use it - they cultivate four-leaf clover, from which they then make amulets and gifts.

Interesting Facts

The shamrock was considered a symbol of the Holy Trinity. The plant is often found as a pattern on wall images of architectural monuments and sculptures. Clover is also present on state symbols and emblems of several countries.

The clover leaf is depicted on one of the playing and divination cards.Clover is considered one of the magical plants used in various rituals and to create amulets. It is believed that a clover dreamed in a dream is considered a symbol of wealth and success.

Some people carry around a clover-shaped amulet or a leaf of a living plant. It is believed that the plant is able to ward off failures and troubles from a person. In addition, some countries issue coins with a shamrock leaf that are used in everyday life.

Types and varieties of clover with photos and descriptions

Many types of clover are widely cultivated in crop rotations, short- and medium-term hayfields and pastures, grows in river floodplains, in dry meadows, in forest glades and along forest edges, in bushes. Clover varieties grow on podzolic, gray forest and chernozem soils, they require good drainage and looseness. It develops poorly on acidic and light soils, does not tolerate the proximity of groundwater. It grows best at pH 6-7. It responds well to liming, organic and mineral fertilizers.

Starting the description of the clover species, it should be said that in the conditions of the Southern Urals they all grow in late April - early May, bloom in the second half of June - early July, the seeds ripen in August. A valuable fodder plant. It is used for green forage, hay, haylage, grass meal, as well as in grass mixtures.

Studying the description of the clover species from the photo, it can be noted that the richness of petal colors can be even more luxurious on organic-rich soils:

It is well eaten by all types of livestock in green and dry form. Like other clovers, when eaten in green, it can cause tympanitis (bloating) in animals. Therefore, hungry animals should not be allowed to graze on clover, especially after dew and after rain.

Clover hayfields are used for hay, but leaves are lost during drying. In mixtures with other legumes (alfalfa, sweet clover) and cereals, it dries better. Excellent raw material for the production of haylage, grass meal, protein-vitamin hay and green forage. Red clover is a good predecessor and honey plant.

In the South Urals, there are valuable populations of meadow clover, which are characterized by winter hardiness and high productivity. The organization in the Urals of commercial production of hybrid seeds of meadow clover on a heterotic basis will help to increase the yield of seeds and hay of this valuable crop. More sustainable yields are produced by landlocked clovers included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements by Region.

Look at the main types of clover in the photo, which illustrates the distinctive features and characteristics:

It is interesting that all clovers bloom only in the second or third year, and live at different times. If the clover does not live long, then the so-called clover years come on the meadows from time to time (usually after three to four years). During these years, clover is almost the main plant in the meadow. In subsequent years, it almost completely disappears, in any case, it is rarely found among flowering herbs. This is because clover seeds do not sprout at the same time. The seeds that have fallen out of the inflorescence will sprout for several years in a row, the shoots continue to appear even when not a single new seed gets into the soil. Thus, after the clover year, some fresh seeds will sprout, which will begin to bloom in a year, and during this year there will be few flowering plants, only left over from previous years. The next year, the bushes that have sprung up last year will bloom for the first time and many new ones will appear - "hard" seeds will sprout, and in the third year they will bloom all together - again, a clover year will turn out.

Of course, in a culture where all the seeds are sown at the same time, this phenomenon should also remain, but over the years the plants die faster. In practice, the harvest of green mass reaches its maximum in the third year, then the thickets are thinned out and the clover has to be re-sown.Hard seeds can germinate for 20 years. Cultivated clovers develop faster and more luxuriantly, but die earlier, are less resistant to weather conditions, freeze more easily, dry out more easily, but at the same time give a colossal harvest.

The following are all varieties of clover in the photo, which are illustrated above and below on the description page:

Cooking use

Clover is used as a main dish or as an additive. The flowers and leaves of the plant have nutritional value, they are rich in vitamins and minerals and can be used for making salads. Light soups in vegetable or meat broth are also prepared from it. An egg and sour cream are added to the finished dish. For seasoning soups, clover powder obtained from dried leaves is used. It is also added to bread and muffins. For those who follow their figure, nutritious clover patties, to which cabbage and quinoa leaves are added, are suitable.

Lugovoy (red)

Red clover is the brightest member of the Legume family. It is represented by a biennial or perennial bush that has complex triple leaves and wide triangular stipules. The flowers are small in size, have a moth type, presented in the form of spherical purple or red heads. Some leaves of trifoliate leaves are covered with white spots. Plant height ranges from 15 to 60 cm.

The legume family also includes peanuts, sainfoin, peas, beans, vetch, shrub bubblegum, sweet peas.

Important! If you decide to make a "carpet" of clover at your summer cottage, it is better to choose slightly acidic soil for planting, which in the future should be moistened as often as possible. Without abundant watering, the shrub will quickly die.
The flowering period is in May and June. Most often, meadow shrubs can be found in meadows, forest edges, glades.