CLOVERS
In this section we discuss white and pink clovers. A shamtock, by the way is a clover, but a clover is not necessarily a shamrock. Our local wild clovers have elongated leafs - still trefoil, which you can see in the Latin name - and larger.
WHITE CLOVER : Trifolium repens
White Clover is abundant throughout West Dunbartonshire and can be found in grassland or alongside paths.
The leaves have 3 oval, slightly elongated leaflets. They have serrated edges and a lighter green ‘new moon’ crescent shape half way down.
The distinctive pompom shaped flower-heads are formed of 40 – 80 tiny flowers.
A full flower in August.
RED CLOVER : Trifolium pratense
Also called : Prunella, All-Heal, Hook-Heal, Self Heal, Slough-Heal, Brunella, Heart of the Earth, Blue Curls, Carpenter-weed, Common Self-heal, Consolida Minor, Lance Self-heal, Sicklewort, Woundwort, Xia Ku Cao
Like its white counterpart, the red clover has a similar habitat and general form.
It lacks the creeping stems of its white cousin, and the leaves are more narrowly oval. Very popular with bumble bees and other pollinators, clover flowers are an important nectar source for beekeepers.
[It can be mistaken for self heal index.asp?pageid=732740 and indeed is sometimes called that. Self heal has a chubby flower on a stalk and pairs of leafs that alternate. Red clover tends to be lower and has the distinctive trefoil / three leafs].
HIGHLAND TITLES : https://www.highlandtitles.com/flower/white-clover/ and https://www.highlandtitles.com/flower/red-clover/
WILDLLIFE TRUSTS : https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/white-clover and https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/red-clover
