Brown clover

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Brown clover
Brown clover (Trifolium badium)

Brown clover ( Trifolium badium )

Systematics
Order : Fabales (Fabales)
Family : Legumes (Fabaceae)
Subfamily : Butterflies (Faboideae)
Genre : Clover ( trifolium )
Section : Chronosemium
Type : Brown clover
Scientific name
Trifolium badium
Schreb.

The Brown-clover ( Trifolium badium ) and Alpine Brown Clover called, is a plant that to the subfamily of Pea (Faboideae) within the family of legumes belongs (Fabaceae or Leguminosae).

Description and ecology

Habit with stalked, three-part leaves and stipules
Brown clover in different flowering stages

Vegetative characteristics

The brown clover is a bare, perennial, herbaceous plant that reaches heights of 10 to 20 centimeters. It has prostrate to upright stems .

The alternate arranged on the stem leaves are divided into petiole and leaf blade. The leaf blade is three-part pinnate unpaired. The partial leaves are up to 2 inches long.

Generative characteristics

The flowering period extends from June to August. Around 60 tiny flowers are combined in head-shaped inflorescences to enhance the visual effect.

The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and five-fold with a double flower envelope . The flower crowns have the typical shape of the butterfly flower and are golden yellow at first. After fading, the yellow flags first turn brown at the bottom and then enlarge. The dry-skinned bracts are preserved and help the seeds to spread.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 14.

Occurrence

Overall spread

The brown clover is widespread in the Alps and from northern Spain to the Balkan Peninsula .

Occurrence in Central Europe

The brown clover at altitudes of 600 to 3000 meters and preferentially in Central Europe altitudes of 1200 to 2200 meters. In the Allgäu Alps, it rises in the Tyrolean part between Mutte and Rothornjoch north of Holzgau up to an altitude of 2200 meters. It occurs in central Europe in the Alps and in the southern Swiss Jura . The brown clover thrives best on moist, nutrient-rich , humus-containing , loamy or clay soils . In Central Europe it mainly settles in gappy locations in limestone soils , alpine pastures and meadows , it also goes to cattle stocks and in snow valleys . It is a character species of the Poion alpinae association, but also occurs in plant communities of the Caricion ferrugineae or Arabidion caeruleae associations.

use

As a fertilizer-loving species, the brown clover is one of the few alpine plants that benefit from the intensification of agriculture in the mountains. On very high pastures where intensive cultivation is no longer worthwhile, the brown clover is one of the valued fodder plants . Tall plants are rare in such locations, open spaces are frequent, so that the brown clover finds good conditions for its growth there.

supporting documents

  • Xaver Finkenzeller, Jürke Grau: Alpine flowers. Recognize and determine (=  Steinbach's natural guide ). Mosaik, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-576-11482-3 .
  • Manfred A. Fischer, Wolfgang Adler, Karl Oswald: Excursion flora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol . 2nd, improved and enlarged edition. State of Upper Austria, Biology Center of the Upper Austrian State Museums, Linz 2005, ISBN 3-85474-140-5 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Trifolium badium Schreb., Brown-Clover. In: FloraWeb.de.
  2. ↑ a b Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas. 8th edition. Stuttgart, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , p. 593.
  3. ↑ a b c d e Dietmar Aichele, Heinz-Werner Schwegler: The flowering plants of Central Europe. 2nd Edition. Volume 2: Yew plants to butterfly flowering plants , Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-440-08048-X .
  4. ↑ Erhard Dörr, Wolfgang Lippert : Flora of the Allgäu and its surroundings. Volume 2, IHW-Verlag, Eching near Munich, 2004, ISBN 3-930167-61-1 , p. 129.

Web links

Commons : Brown clover ( Trifolium badium )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files