The Difference Between Clover & Red Clover

History

• White clover is the most widely grown kind of clover. It is native to the Mediterranean and was spread naturally into the rest of the world by birds, wind, water and animals. A cultivated crop in the Netherlands during the 1600s, white clover was introduced to England in the 1700s and brought to North America as a forage crop soon afterward. Red clover originated in the same region and has been used medicinally for centuries. Historically, extracts and teas made from the flowers were used for respiratory ailments, such as whooping cough, asthma and bronchitis.

Culture

• Like peas, clover belongs to the legume botanical family. It grows well during cool, moist seasons in fertile soil whose pH value is 6.0 to 6.5. It needs regular water. When used as forage, clover is grown with cool-season grasses, such as perennial ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue. Red clover has a longer growing season than white clover, but both are short-lived perennial plants.

Benefits

• Clover fixes nitrogen in the soil, and red clover is often used by gardeners and farmers as a fall-winter cover crop on soil from which annual vegetables have been harvested. Because of its deep roots, red clover brings nutrients closer to the surface of the soil; it is tilled in in spring before crops are planted. Red clover also contains phytoestrogens, similar in action to the female hormone estrogen. It is used in alternative medicine for menopausal symptoms. White clover is a larvae food source for several kinds of butterflies and moths.

Other Differences

• When harvested, white clover, being a smaller plant than red clover, does not yield as much. Red clover is taller, growing to 36 inches, with larger leaves. Its stems and leaves are hairy, and it has a taproot. White clover is less than 6 inches tall, with smaller, nonhairy leaves and smaller flowers. White clover spreads by above-ground runners and has a shallow root system. Seeds for white are very tiny; red clover seeds are easily seen.