Minnesota Wildflowers


or try: advanced plant search
Share |

Trifolium arvense (Rabbit-foot Clover)

Plant Info
Also known as:
Genus:Trifolium
Family:Fabaceae (Pea)
Life cycle:annual
Origin:Eurasia
Habitat:part shade, sun; dry sandy soil, disturbed sites
Bloom season:June - September
Plant height:4 to 16 inches
USDA PLANTS database:Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:

Pick an image for a larger view. Most image enlargements are 50-100KB, though some may be larger. See the glossary for icon descriptions.

Detailed Information

Flower: irregular round

[photo of flowers] Dense, fuzzy, round to cylindrical flower heads ½ to 1 inch long, made up of tiny 5-parted flowers with feathery “petals”. Color ranges from pale pink to whitish gray. One plant has numerous flower heads on many branches.

Leaves and stem: alternate palmate

[photo of leaves] Leaves are compound in 3s; leaflets are about ¾ inch long and to ¼ inch wide, toothless, tapering at the base, with a blunt or rounded tip and widest above the middle. There are fine hairs all around the leaf edges. The main stem is hairy but may become smooth with age.

Fruit:

[photo of fruit] Fruit is a tiny brown seed with barbed spines that ripens in the fall.

Notes:

Rabbit-foot Clover is a pretty little thing. I was a bit disappointed when I discovered it is not native. The fuzzy flower heads make it easy to identify.

Where to buy native seed and plants

Help support this site by buying seeds & plants from these vendors. Tell them we sent you!

  • Shop for native seeds and plants at PrairieMoon.com!
  • Out Back Nursery and Landscaping - Where Ecology and Horticulture Unite
  • Shooting Star Native Seeds - Native Prairie Grass and Wildflower Seeds
  • Prairie Restorations - Bringing people together with the land

Map of native plant purveyors in the upper midwest

More photos

Photos taken at Wild River State Park, Center City, MN and Rice Creek Trail Corridor, Shoreview, MN July and September, 2008

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?

Posted by: Lisa R in Nevis (12 miles east of Park Rapids)
on: 2009-08-19 09:23:29

So that's what these little plants are! We have them growing along the road in front of our house. It's sandy soil, so I guess they like that.

Posted by: Steve in Demark TWP, Washington County
on: 2010-04-18 08:49:52

This plant is present at Lost Valley SNA. I've only seen it in the East Restoration field but it is quite common there. I've asked the DNR about whether this is something to worry about (being a non-native and all). They said that it something they track but don't currently manage.

I'm trying to monitor the population to see if it has any affect on native populations.

The east restoration is an old farm field that has been planted in natives. The native populations are abundant and quite diverse. But in areas where open ground exists, the rabbit's foot clover has spread. Some spots have thick populations that may influence other plant species ability to establish.

Posted by: Sonja in McGrath
on: 2010-12-09 11:02:54

These are up here too but not alot of them, just little clumps here and there.

Post a comment

Note: All comments are moderated before posting to keep the riff-raff out. An email address is required, but will not be posted—it will only be used for information exchange between the 2 of us (if needed) and will never be given to a 3rd party without your express permission.

For info on subjects other than plant identification (gardening, invasive species control, edible plants, etc.), please check the links and invasive species pages for additional resources.



(required)




Note: Comments or information about plants outside of Minnesota may not be posted because I’d like to keep the focus of this web site on Minnesota. Thanks for your understanding.