Common Name: Strawberry Clover

General Information

Trifolium fragiferum is a creeping stoloniferous herbaceous perennial plant, rooting at the nodes reaching 15 - 40cm in height, with pale-pink flower-heads and ovate pods each containing two light brown seeds[].
The plant is sometimes used as a green manure. It is grown as an ornamental, where it is sometimes planted in lawns.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Eurasia - Norway to Portugal, east to western Siberia, central Asia, Pakistan, Turkey and the Levant; N. Africa - Morocco to Egypt and Ethiopia

Habitat

Humid and moist shady places, river sands, damp open plains, wet meadows, river valleys and bogs; at elevations from sea level to 1,750 metres[]. Grassy places, mainly on heavy clay soils and often on rather saline soils[].

Properties

Other Uses Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.20 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Trifolium fragiferum is a plant of the temperate to subtropical zones, where it is found at elevations up to 1,750 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 12 - 22°c, but can tolerate 4 - 28°c[]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -4°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 600 - 900mm, but tolerates 450 - 1,200mm[].
Grows best in full sun, tolerating light shade. Succeeds in a wide range of soils of low to moderate fertility[]. Prefers a well-drained soil but tolerates short periods of soil inundation[]. Prefers a pH in the range 6.5 - 7, tolerating 5.3 - 9[].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria; these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant provides a good pasture, green manure and can also be used on lawns. It is a source of honey[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - the seed of Trifolium species is often of two kinds - hard-coated and soft-coated. The soft-coated seeds can germinate immediately, whilst hard-coated seeds remain dormant until the seedcoat has broken down enough to permit the ingress of water. In order to speed up and improve germination rates, hard-coated seeds benefit from scarification before sowing. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. The seed can usually be sown in spring in situ.
If the seed is in short supply, it might be better to sow it in pots in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts.