Description
Fabaceae (family name)
Forage for Pollinators: Produces Nectar in abundance for many long-tongued Bumblebees such as Bombus pascuorum, B. hortorum, and some of these rarest bees such as the great yellow bumblebee (Bombus distinguenus), the shrill carder bee (Bombus sylvarum) and the short-haired bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus). Remarkably, because the amount of nectar secreted by this Red clover is so abundant (more than in White or Alsike clovers), it sometimes fills the flower-tube, making it accessible by Honeybees too, and it may be a more important minor source of nectar than has been supposed by beekeepers. This is also a Pollen source for Honeybees and Bumblebees. Pollinated by bees and butterflies.
Flowering time: May, June, July, August, September.
Growing information: NATIVE PERENNIAL WILDFLOWER growing to 0.6 m (2ft) by 0.6 m (2ft), it is a long-lived grassland wildflower, preferring damp, slightly acid soils, but not needing high nitrogen inputs. This is the wild species, not agricultural hybrid.
Red clover is a safe and effective herb with a long history of medicinal usage, commonly used to treat skin conditions (and a folk remedy for breast cancer).
