WildBristol.uk - Discovering Wildlife in Bristol

Widespread and fairly frequent throughout most of the UK except for North West Scotland, Northern England and the South East. Habitat includes: Disturbed places often escaping from cultivation as fodder in places such as wasteland, roadside verges, railway banks, grassy banks, meadows often spread through seed mixtures etc. Growing habit: Annual / Perennial. Height: Up to 40 cm. Flowers: June to September. There are 2 subspecies: Trifolium hybridum subsp. elegans (mainly around Glasgow), Trifolium hybridum subsp. hybridum (throughout most of Britain). It used to be much grown as a forage crop and was recorded from the wild by 1762. It is still grown on a small scale as a green manure. Native to Native subspecies S. Europe & S.W. Asia (especially in the mountains). Most of our plants are the cultivated subsp. hybridum, which is widely naturalised further north in Europe and elsewhere.