Plant Database / Wild & Foraged / Red Clover
Wild & Foraged

Red Clover

Trifolium pratense
Fabaceae (Legume)

A common field clover whose flowers make a mild tea, and which quietly fixes nitrogen wherever it grows.

EdibleWild / foragedForagedMedicinalFixes nitrogenPollinator
Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) illustration — Texas Roots plant database, by Jordan Polasek
Sun
Full sun
Water
Low
Soil
Average
pH
6.0–7.0
Hardiness
Short-lived perennial
Height
12–24 in
Days to harvest
Spring–summer

What it is

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) is in the Fabaceae (Legume) family. A common field clover whose flowers make a mild tea, and which quietly fixes nitrogen wherever it grows.

How to grow it

It wants full sun, water it low, and give it average soil. Target a soil pH around 6.0–7.0. Expect roughly Spring–summer. Short-lived perennial.

How it's used

Red Clover is used: flowers (tea); young leaves.

🔎 How to identify it

  • Three leaflets with pale 'V' mark
  • Pink-purple round flower heads
  • Hairy stems

Edibility

PartsFlowers and young leaves
UsesFlowers (tea); young leaves
CautionEat in moderation; harvest from unsprayed areas.
🌤 Before you plant: check the live 7-day garden weather to time it right for frost and heat.

Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.