Red clover

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNA - Not applicable
SNA - Not applicable

Minnesota

not listed

Weed Status

Red clover is on the Exotic Invasive Plants Watchlist in Kentucky, it is listed as a common weed in Oregon, it is on the Occasionally Invasive Plant Species list on West Virginia, and it is on the Invasive Plants Association of Wisconsin (IPAW) Working List of Invasive Plants of Wisconsin. It is not listed in Minnesota.

Wetland Indicator Status

Great Plains

FACU - Facultative upland

Midwest

FACU - Facultative upland

Northcentral & Northeast

FACU - Facultative upland

Description

Red clover is an exotic perennial forb. It is native to Northern Africa, Europe, and Western Asia. It was widely introduced for agricultural use, has escaped cultivation, and is now widely naturalized in North America.

Red clover rises on multiple stems from a taproot with rhizomes.

The stems are light green, hairy, and branching. They can be nearly erect, ascending, or reclining on the ground with just the tip ascending.

The leaves are alternate and compound, divided into 3 leaflets. The lower leaves are on long, hairy leaf stalks. The upper leaves are on short stalks or on no stalks at all. The leaflets are lance-shaped or egg-shaped, hairless, ⅜″ to 1⅛″ long, and ¼″ to ⅔″ wide. The margins are finely-toothed or untoothed. The upper leaf surface is silky-hairy and has a pale V-shaped marking.

The inflorescence is several dense, globular, head-like clusters at the end of the stems. The flower heads are ½″ to 1⅛″ tall and about 1″ across. Each head has up to 25 to 80 flowers. There are usually 1 to 3 stalkless leaflets immediately below the flower head.

The flowers are pea-like, with 5 petals organized into a banner, 2 wings, and a keel formed by two petals fused together at the tip. The banner is longer than the wings and the keel. The individual flowers are stalkless. The petals are magenta to pink to nearly white, but never red. They gradually turn darker pink to rose as they age.

The fruit is a seed pod containing 1 or 2 seeds.

Height

1′ to 2½′

Flower Color

Magenta to pink to nearly white, but never red

Similar Species

Alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum) stems are hairless or nearly hairless. The leaflets have no markings on the upper surface and are not indented or pointed at the tip. The petals are pale pink to pinkish-white.

Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum ssp. incarnatum) stems are more hairy. The leaflets have no markings on the upper surface. The petals are crimson red.

White clover (Trifolium repens ssp. repens) is a much smaller plant, 4″ to 10″ tall. The stems are creeping and they root at the nodes. Flowers and leaves are borne on separate stalks. The leaflets have have a pale, crescent-shaped, not V-shaped, marking on the upper surface. The petals are white or white tinted with pink.

Habitat

Disturbed sites

Ecology

Flowering

May to September

Pests and Diseases

Use

Red clover is an important forage crop. It has been cultivated since the third and fourth centuries.

Red clover is the state flower of Vermont.

Distribution

Sources

2, 3, 5, 7, 24, 28, 30, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 3/6/2026).

Midwest Herbaria Portal. 2026. https://midwestherbaria.org/portal/index.php. Accessed 3/6/2026.

Trifolium pratense L. in GBIF Secretariat (2023). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org. Accessed 3/6/2026.

EDDMapS. 2013. Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System. The University of Georgia - Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. Available online at www.eddmaps.org/. Accessed 3/6/2026.