Trifolium tridentatum

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

Leaves are best used before the plant comes into flower, eaten raw or cooked, and can be dried for later use. The seed can be sprouted and added to salads, or dried and ground into a powder to thicken soups or mixed with cereals when making bread.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant.

Canada, North America, USA,

How to Identify

Trifolium tridentatum is an annual growing to 0.6 m (2 feet) tall. Hermaphroditic flowers are pollinated by insects and the plant fixes nitrogen. It adapts to light sandy, medium loamy, or heavy clay soils with good drainage and poor fertility tolerance. Suitable for mildly acid to basic soils, it requires full sun, cannot grow in shade, and prefers moist conditions.

How to Grow

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in most parts of the country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Succeeds in a moist, well-drained circum-neutral soil in full sun. Succeeds in poor soils. It grows well in an apple orchard, the trees will produce tastier fruit that stores better. It should not be grown with camellias or gooseberries because it harbours a mite that can cause fruit drop in the gooseberries and premature budding in the camellias. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby. Buttercups growing nearby depress the growth of the nitrogen bacteria by means of a root exudate. When removing plant remains at the end of the growing season, it is best to only remove the aerial parts of the plant, leaving the roots in the ground to decay and release their nitrogen.

Propagation: Pre-soak seed for 12 hours in warm water, then sow in spring in situ. If seed is scarce, sow in pots in a cold frame instead. Prick seedlings out into individual pots when large enough to handle, and plant out in late spring.

Medicinal Uses

None known

Other Uses

Functions as a dynamic accumulator and nitrogen fixer.

Trifolium tridentatum is an annual growing to 0.6 m (2 feet) tall. Hermaphroditic flowers are pollinated by insects and the plant fixes nitrogen. It adapts to light sandy, medium loamy, or heavy clay soils with good drainage and poor fertility tolerance. Suitable for mildly acid to basic soils, it requires full sun, cannot grow in shade, and prefers moist conditions.

Notes

There are about 240 Trifolium species. They are mostly temperate.

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