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Trifolium incarnatum

Table of Contents

Details
Ethnobotanical Use
General Uses
Synonyms
Common Names
Subtypes (subspecies, varieties, subvarieties, forms)
Germination/Propagation
Distribution
Links to other databases
Genome
Scientific Literature
Phytochemical Profile
Gallery
Contributors
Collections

Details Top

Internal ID UUID643fdee9d7b58226131644
Scientific name Trifolium incarnatum
Authority L.
First published in Sp. Pl.: 769 (1753)

Ethnobotanical Use Top

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General Uses Top

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Common products:
Seeds of Trifolium incarnatum are harvested for commercial use as a cover crop, for hay and silage production, and for incorporation as green manure; the plant’s flowers yield nectar for commercial honey; seed and plant material are supplied by specialty seed companies to research institutions for genetic, symbiotic nitrogen‑fixation and molecular studies; fresh sprouts and young plants are sold as microgreens for culinary use.

Food and beverages (non‑medicinal):
The dried seeds can be milled into a protein‑rich flour that is used in traditional breads, pancakes and porridge in parts of Europe; roasted seeds are eaten as a snack; the fresh flowers and young leaves are consumed raw as salad garnish or cooked as a green vegetable; sprouts are added to salads and sandwiches for their mild flavor.

Properties relevant to use:
Seeds contain about 20–25 % protein and 4–6 % oil by weight, supporting their use as a protein supplement and for flour production; the species establishes symbiotic root nodules with Rhizobium, fixing 100–150 kg N ha⁻¹, which provides a natural nitrogen source for soils; the foliage is highly palatable and has a high digestibility for livestock, contributing to its value as hay and silage; the plant reaches flowering within 8–10 weeks, allowing rapid biomass accumulation for forage.

Standards and regulation:
Commercial seed lots are tested and certified under the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) and the Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA) protocols, ensuring genetic purity, germination rate and seed health; seed marketing in the European Union complies with EU seed marketing regulations (e.g., Directive 2002/53/EC) and, when sold as organic, with USDA National Organic Program standards; honey produced from crimson clover nectar must meet the EU Honey Directive (2001/110/EC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards for honey identity.

Sustainability and sourcing:
Crimson clover is widely cultivated in temperate regions (Europe, North America, parts of Asia) as a nitrogen‑fixing cover crop, reducing reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and enhancing soil organic matter; its inclusion in crop‑rotation systems improves soil structure, suppresses weeds and provides a high‑quality forage for integrated livestock‑crop farms; seed production requires relatively low inputs and the plant can be harvested for multiple uses (seed, hay, silage) within a single growing season, supporting efficient land use.

Synonyms Top

Scientific name Authority First published in
Trifolium incarnatum var. incarnatum L.
Trifolium stramineum C.Presl Fl. Sicul.: xx (1826)
Trifolium incarnatum var. molinerii (Hornem.) DC. Cat. Pl. Horti Monsp.: 67 (1813)
Trifolium incarnatum subsp. incarnatum L.
Trifolium noeanum Rchb. ex W.D.J.Koch Exsicc. (Fl. Germ.)1838: n.° 1366 (1838)
Trifolium incarnatum var. intermedium Kožuharov Fl. Nar. Republ. Bulgariya6: 558 (1976)
Trifolium incarnatum var. minor Kožuharov Fl. Nar. Republ. Bulgariya6: 558 (1976)
Trifolium incarnatum f. albiflorum Merino Brotéria, Sér. Bot.10: 183 (1912)
Trifolium incarnatum var. albiflorum St.-Lag. A.Cariot, Étude Fl., éd. 8, 2: 175 (1889)
Trifolium incarnatum var. album Alef. Landw. Fl.: 79 (1866)
Trifolium incarnatum var. atropurpureum Alef. Landw. Fl.: 78 (1866)
Trifolium incarnatum var. carneum Alef. Landw. Fl.: 78 (1866)
Trifolium incarnatum var. elatius Gibelli & Belli Mem. Reale Accad. Sci. Torino, ser. 2, 39: 57 (1889)
Trifolium incarnatum var. noisettii Alef. Landw. Fl.: 79 (1866)
Trifolium incarnatum var. sativum Ducommun Taschenb. Schweiz. Bot.: 169 (1869)
Trifolium incarnatum var. vilmorinii Alef. Landw. Fl.: 79 (1866)
Trifolium stellatum subsp. incarnatum (L.) Gibelli & Belli Mem. Reale Accad. Sci. Torino, ser. 2, 39: 296 (1889)
Trifolium stellatum subsp. stramineum (C.Presl) Gibelli & Belli Mem. Reale Accad. Sci. Torino, ser. 2, 39: 55 (1889)
Trifolium stellatum subvar. stramineum (C.Presl) Gibelli & Belli Mem. Reale Accad. Sci. Torino, ser. 2, 39: 298 (1889)
Trifolium stellatum var. elatius Gibelli & Belli Mem. Reale Accad. Sci. Torino, ser. 2, 39: 296 (1889)
Trifolium incarnatum prol. molinerii (Balb. ex Hornem.) P.Fourn. Quatre Fl. France: 557 (1936)
Trifolium molinerii Balb. ex Hornem. Hort. Bot. Hafn.: 715 (1815)
Trifolium incarnatum subsp. molinerii (Hornem.) Ces. Not. Nat. Civ. Lombardia1: 292 (1844)
Trifolium incarnatum f. roseum (Rouy) C.Vicioso Anales Inst. Bot. Cavanilles11: 311 (1954)
Trifolium incarnatum f. minor Barnola Mem. Soc. Ibér. Ci. Nat. 1: 50 (1919)
Trifolium molinerii Colla Herb. Pedem. 2: 134 (1834)

Common names Top

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Language Common/alternative name
English carnation clover
English scarlet clover
English italian clover
English crimson clover
Spanish trébol encarnado
Arabic نفل محمر
Azerbaijani al-qırmızı yonca
Belarusian канюшына мяса-чырвоная
Belarusian канюшына інкарнатная
Bulgarian инкарнатна детелина
Czech jetel inkarnát
Welsh meillionen waetgoch
German inkarnat-klee
German blutklee
German inkarnatklee
German rosenklee
Estonian kahkjaspunane ristik
Basque pagotxa
Basque belar beltz
Persian شبدر لاکی
Finnish veriapila
French farouche
French trefle incarnat
French trèfle incarnat
Galician trevo encarnado
Upper Sorbian krejčerwjeny dźećel
Hungarian bíborhere
Icelandic logasmári
Japanese ベニバナツメクサ
Lithuanian purpurinis dobilas
Lithuanian inkarnatinis dobilas
Latvian inkarnāta āboliņš
Macedonian Инкарнатска детелина
myv Якстере тюсонь вараканьпал
myv Якстере тюсонь вараканьпря тикше
Norwegian Bokmål blodkløver
Dutch inkarnaatklaver
Polish koniczyna inkarnatka
Polish inkarnatka
Polish koniczyna szkarłatna
Polish koniczyna krwistoczerwona
Russian Клевер мясо-красный
Russian Клевер инкарнатный
Russian Клевер пунцовый
Swedish blodklöver
Turkish kırmızı üçgül
Ukrainian конюшина багряна
Ukrainian конюшина інкарнатна
Chinese 絳三葉
Chinese 猩红苜蓿
Chinese 地中海三叶草
Chinese 砗磲肉
Chinese 绛三叶
Chinese 绛车轴草
Chinese 地中海三叶

Subspecies (abbr. subsp./ssp.) Top

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Name Authority First published in
Trifolium incarnatum subsp. molinerii (Hornem.) Syme

Varieties (abbr. var.) Top

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No variety added yet.

Subvarieties (abbr. subvar.) Top

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No subvariety added yet.

Forms (abbr. f.) Top

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No forms added yet.

Germination/Propagation Top

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Sow seeds at 20°C, expecting germination within 3 months without further temperature treatment.

Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top

Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
  • Africa
    • Macaronesia
      • Azores
      • Madeira
    • Northern Africa
      • Algeria
      • Egypt
      • Morocco
    • Southern Africa
      • Northern Provinces
  • Asia-temperate
    • Caucasus
      • North Caucasus
      • Transcaucasus
    • China
      • China North-central
      • China Southeast
    • Eastern Asia
      • Japan
      • Korea
    • Russian Far East
      • Sakhalin
    • Western Asia
      • East Aegean Islands
      • Iran
      • Turkey
  • Australasia
    • Australia
      • New South Wales
      • Queensland
      • South Australia
      • Tasmania
      • Victoria
      • Western Australia
    • New Zealand
      • Chatham Islands
      • New Zealand North
      • New Zealand South
  • Europe
    • Eastern Europe
      • Baltic States
      • Belarus
      • Central European Russia
      • Krym
      • Northwest European Russia
      • South European Russia
      • Ukraine
    • Middle Europe
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Germany
      • Hungary
      • Netherlands
      • Poland
      • Switzerland
    • Northern Europe
      • Denmark
      • Finland
      • Great Britain
      • Norway
      • Sweden
    • Southeastern Europe
      • Albania
      • Bulgaria
      • Italy
      • Kriti
      • Romania
      • Sicilia
      • Turkey-in-Europe
      • Yugoslavia
    • Southwestern Europe
      • Corse
      • France
      • Portugal
      • Sardegna
      • Spain
  • Northern America
    • North-central U.S.A.
      • Illinois
      • Minnesota
      • Wisconsin
    • Northeastern U.S.A.
      • New York
      • Vermont
    • Northwestern U.S.A.
      • Idaho
      • Oregon
      • Washington
    • Southeastern U.S.A.
      • Alabama
      • Kentucky
      • Maryland
      • Tennessee
    • Southwestern U.S.A.
      • California

Links to other databases Top

Suggest others/fix!
Database ID/link to page
World Flora Online wfo-0000213010
Florida Plant Atlas 1521
Flora of Alabama 2083
Canadensys 5922
USDA Plants TRIN3
Tropicos 13033934
INPN 127340
Flora of Italy 2654
KEW urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:523237-1
The Plant List ild-8086
Open Tree Of Life 705473
Observations.org 7572
NCBI Taxonomy 60916
NBN Atlas NBNSYS0000013889
Nature Serve 2.152901
IUCN Red List 176390
IPNI 523237-1
iNaturalist 64268
GBIF 5359378
Freebase /m/0cbqn0
WisFlora 5271
EPPO TRFIN
EOL 703405
Elurikkus 8001
Calflora (Californian flora) 8084
USDA GRIN 300619
Wikipedia Trifolium_incarnatum

Genomes (via NCBI) Top

No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.

Scientific Literature Top

Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
Title Authors Publication Released IDs
Commodity risk assessment of Petunia spp. and Calibrachoa spp. unrooted cuttings from Kenya Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Gonthier P, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Civera AV, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Manda RR, Schulz OM, Akrivou A, Antonatos S, Beris D, Debode J, Kritikos C, Kormpi M, Lacomme C, Manceau C, Papachristos D, Reppa C, Gardi C, Potting R EFSA J 25-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11044013
doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8742
PMID:38665158
Mapping and validation of Fusarium wilt race 2 resistance QTL from Citrullus amarus line USVL246-FR2 Ganaparthi VR, Wechter P, Levi A, Branham SE Theor Appl Genet 31-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10982098
doi:10.1007/s00122-024-04595-z
PMID:38555543
Dairy Effluent-Saturated Biochar’s Short-Term Effects on Vigna unguiculata and Cynodon dactylon Performance and Soil Properties Entio LJ, Taggart CB, Muir JP, Kan E, Brady JA, Obayomi O Plants (Basel) 15-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10975149
doi:10.3390/plants13060851
PMID:38592900
How to successfully improve the biodiversity of city grasslands? Mollashahi H, Szymura TH, Szymura M Heliyon 13-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10955310
doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27810
PMID:38515666
The Impact of Peach Rootstocks and Winter Cover Crops on Reproduction of Ring Nematode GC S, Alarcon-Mendoza I, Harshman D, Khanal C Plants (Basel) 12-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10975280
doi:10.3390/plants13060803
PMID:38592829
89 Improving cattle grazing efficiency with multi-functional cover crops Suazo SA, Pereira Neto JD, Mullenix MK, Smith WB, Dillard SL J Anim Sci 02-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10908470
doi:10.1093/jas/skae019.034
Select Cover Crop Residue and Soil Microbiomes Contribute to Suppression of Fusarium Root and Crown Rot in Barley and Soybean Aiyer HS, McKenzie-Gopsill A, Mills A, Foster AJ Microorganisms 17-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10891762
doi:10.3390/microorganisms12020404
PMID:38399808
Use of Aureobasidium in a sustainable economy Rensink S, van Nieuwenhuijzen EJ, Sailer MF, Struck C, Wösten HA Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 13-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10864419
doi:10.1007/s00253-024-13025-5
PMID:38349550
Update of the Xylella spp. host plant database – systematic literature search up to 30 June 2023 Gibin D, Gutierrez Linares A, Fasanelli E, Pasinato L, Delbianco A EFSA J 15-Dec-2023
PMCID:PMC10722330
doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2023.8477
PMID:38107375
Optimizing factors for large-scale production of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi consortia using root organ cultures Ghorui M, Chowdhury S, Das K, Sunar K, Prakash B J Biol Methods 08-Nov-2023
PMCID:PMC10668604
doi:10.14440/jbm.2023.410
PMID:38023771
True Parthenogenesis and Female-Biased Sex Ratios in Cicadomorpha and Fulgoromorpha (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha) Aguín-Pombo D, Kuznetsova VG Insects 17-Oct-2023
PMCID:PMC10607665
doi:10.3390/insects14100820
PMID:37887832
Conservation Agriculture Impacts on Economic Profitability and Environmental Performance of Agroecosystems Lorenzetti LA, Fiorini A Environ Manage 16-Oct-2023
PMCID:PMC10884138
doi:10.1007/s00267-023-01874-1
PMID:37845575
Formal analyses are fundamental for the definition of honey, a product representing specific territories and their changes: the case of North Tyrrhenian dunes (Italy) Leoni V, Panseri S, Giupponi L, Pavlovic R, Gianoncelli C, Sala S, Zeni V, Benelli G, Giorgi A Sci Rep 16-Oct-2023
PMCID:PMC10579322
doi:10.1038/s41598-023-44769-1
PMID:37845313
A perennial living mulch system fosters a more diverse and balanced soil bacterial community Li H, Hill N, Wallace J PLoS One 29-Aug-2023
PMCID:PMC10464973
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0290608
PMID:37643167
Data quantifying interseeded cover crops effects on soil water and corn productivity in corn-soybean-wheat no-till cropping systems Schomberg HH, White KE, Thompson AI, Mirsky SB Data Brief 02-Aug-2023
PMCID:PMC10432594
doi:10.1016/j.dib.2023.109465
PMID:37600596

Phytochemical Profile Top

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Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
Name PubChem ID Canonical SMILES MW Found in Proof
> Benzenoids / Benzene and substituted derivatives / Benzoic acids and derivatives / Benzoic acids
Benzoic Acid 243 Click to see 122.12 unknown https://doi.org/10.1039/CT9109701004
> Hydrocarbons / Saturated hydrocarbons / Alkanes
Hentriacontane 12410 Click to see 436.80 unknown https://doi.org/10.1039/CT9109701004
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Fatty Acyls / Fatty acids and conjugates / Long-chain fatty acids
9-Octadecenoic Acid 965 Click to see 282.50 unknown https://doi.org/10.1039/CT9109701004
Oleic Acid 445639 Click to see 282.50 unknown https://doi.org/10.1039/CT9109701004
Palmitic Acid 985 Click to see 256.42 unknown https://doi.org/10.1039/CT9109701004
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Terpene glycosides / Triterpene glycosides / Triterpene saponins
Soyasaponin I 122097 Click to see 943.10 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(02)00230-3
> Organic oxygen compounds / Organooxygen compounds / Alcohols and polyols / Secondary alcohols / Cyclohexanols
An inositol 892 Click to see 180.16 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(00)81730-6
> Organic oxygen compounds / Organooxygen compounds / Carbonyl compounds / Aldehydes / Aryl-aldehydes
Furfural 7362 Click to see C1=COC(=C1)C=O 96.08 unknown https://doi.org/10.1039/CT9109701004
> Phenylpropanoids and polyketides / Isoflavonoids / Isoflav-2-enes / Isoflavones
Genistein 5280961 Click to see 270.24 unknown https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2007-969907

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