Hare's-foot clover facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hare's-foot clover |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Trifolium
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| Species: |
arvense
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Trifolium arvense, often called hare's-foot clover or rabbitfoot clover, is a pretty flowering plant from the bean family, Fabaceae. You can find this type of clover in most of Europe and western Asia. It likes to grow in dry, sandy soils, even at high altitudes up to 1,600 meters (about 5,250 feet). You'll often spot it at the edges of fields, in empty lots, or along roadsides. It can grow in both acidic and alkaline soils.
Contents
What Hare's-Foot Clover Looks Like
The hare's-foot clover is a small plant that grows upright, usually between 10 and 40 centimeters (4 to 16 inches) tall. It lives for one or two years. Like all clovers, its leaves have three parts, called leaflets. Each leaflet is about 1 to 2 centimeters long and 3 to 5 millimeters wide. They sometimes have tiny hairs and slightly jagged edges.
The flowers grow in a thick, fluffy cluster that looks like a rabbit's foot. This is how the plant got its common name! These clusters are about 2 to 3 centimeters long. Each tiny flower is rosy white and has many soft, silky white hairs. These hairs are actually part of the sepals, which are much bigger than the petals. Bees help to pollinate these flowers. The plant can also pollinate itself because it has both male and female parts. You can see its flowers from mid-spring to late summer. After flowering, a small pod forms, holding just one seed.
Where Hare's-Foot Clover Grows
Trifolium arvense is originally from Europe. It has also been brought to North America. Now, it grows across the eastern United States, southern Canada, and along the Pacific Coast in the western U.S. You can even find it in some parts of Hawaii.
Hare's-Foot Clover Reproduction
This clover starts to flower in early summer. It doesn't need a cold period to begin blooming. Larger, healthier plants might flower for a longer time. In the wild, only plants that are big enough usually produce seeds.
The flowers of Trifolium arvense can fertilize themselves. However, bees visiting the flowers can help with cross-fertilization, which means mixing genes from different plants. The seeds of this clover have a very tough outer layer. This hard coat helps them survive for a long time without sprouting. They will only start to grow once the seed coat gets damaged.
Uses and How We Grow It
Like many legumes, hare's-foot clover can fix nitrogen from the air. This is very helpful for other plants growing nearby, especially in poor soils, because nitrogen is a key nutrient. Farmers sometimes use it to improve their soil.
Sheep and goats also eat this clover. The amount of nitrogen the plant can fix depends on the size of the small bumps, called nodules, on its roots. These nodules are home to tiny living things that help with nitrogen fixation. In dry areas, a large amount of the nitrogen in the plant comes from the air. More nitrogen is fixed during the rainy season than in the dry season.
People have also found that Trifolium arvense has some medicinal value for both humans and animals.
However, in some parts of North America, it is considered an invasive species. This means it can spread quickly and sometimes take over areas where it isn't native. Some animals, like rabbits, wild turkeys, and deer, eat hare's-foot clover. But if horses or other farm animals eat too much of its hairy flowers, it can make them very sick. Also, some people might be mildly allergic to this plant.
Scientists in New Zealand have used genetic modification to take a gene from Trifolium arvense and put it into another common clover called white clover (Trifolium repens). This genetically modified clover could help reduce bloating in farm animals and lower methane emissions. This new clover might be ready around 2025.
Managing Hare's-Foot Clover
Since Trifolium arvense is part of the Fabaceae family, managing it is similar to controlling other weeds in this group. In small areas, like a home garden, you can easily control it by pulling it out by hand, tilling the soil, or using mulch.
However, in larger areas like farms, it's harder to get rid of. The seeds of Trifolium arvense are very small and tough. They can survive extreme temperatures and physical damage for a long time. This means that getting rid of them requires a lot of effort over time. Regular tilling or composting might not work as well for this plant as it does for other weeds. Sometimes, special chemicals are needed to help remove it. Once the weeds are under control, changing how you grow crops or manage the grass can help stop them from coming back. Also, using fertilizers with more nitrogen and less phosphorus can help control this type of weed, as well as others.
See also
In Spanish: Pie de liebre para niños
