Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
A common violet or white flower, introduced species, found in many naturally grown meadows and along pathways in parks around Montreal. Blooms summer and fall.
Common Names
| 🇨🇦 | Red Clover |
| 🇫🇷 | Trèfle des prés, Trèfle violet |
| 🇩🇪 | Wiesenklee |
| 🇲🇽 | Trébol violeta, Trébol rojo |
Taxonomy
| Order | Fabales |
| Family | Fabaceae |
Flowers
| Color | violet |
| Shape | pailionaceous |
| Inflorescence | globose |
Leaves
| Arrangement | alternate |
| Petiole | medium |
| Shape | trifoliate, ovate |
| Margin | serrulate |
| Venation | dichotomous |
How to Identify
Similar to other clover species. To identify this species look at the leaflets origin and arrangement in regards to the flower, the globose arrangement of violet florets. The leaflets branch near the flower. Florets colour is uniform violet or white and branch of nearest leaflets of the flower is very close.
Click on photo to enlarge.
Where and When to Spot
During summer and fall in any of the parks around Montreal with natural meadows. This flower is an introduced species in North-America.
Flowering Records by Park and Season
| Location | Spring | Summer | Autumn | Winter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champ des Possibles | x | x | - | - |
| Jardin Botanique de Montréal | x | x | x | - |
| Parc Angrignon | - | x | - | - |
| Parc des Rapides | - | x | - | - |
"x" indicates that the species was observed flowering, while "-" indicates no observation. The absence of observation doesn't necessarily imply that the species was not flowering. Data is derived from our park visit journals.