Rabbit Foot Clover

Rabbit Foot Clover

Trifolium arvense

Other names: haresfoot clover, stone clover, oldfield clover

Family: Fabaceae

Range: Much of the Eastern US and Canada, and some western states.

Native: Introduced

Native Habitat: Europe and Western Asia.    It grows in dry sandy soils, both acidic and alkaline, typically found at the edge of fields, in wastelands, at the side of roads, on sand dunes, and in disturbed agricultural sites.

Bloom Time: May to October

Notes:

I’ve long thought this was a grass.    It’s incredibly feathery, much more like a grass than a regular clover, and I’ve seen in around at road or field edges all my life, so it’s been fixed in my brain as a grass for a long time.     I’m totally not surprised it’s a clover in actually looking into it, but it’s not something I ever thought was a legume.

The hairiness of this clover is meant to protect it, as it does favor drier, sunnier habitats.

3/15/23 Updated to current WordPress format.