Jonathan O.C. Kubesch, University of Tennessee
Clovers are an odd group of plants caught between agriculture and agronomy, especially in the Bluegrass. Agronomists and cattlemen find clovers important for their nitrogen contribution and nutritive value to livestock. Horse owners fear clover for the fungal pathogen behind slobbers. Wildlife managers use them for food plots. Of the roadside clovers, most came to Kentucky with settlers (Ball et al., 2015; Bryson and DeFelice, 2009). Those red and white clovers came with the tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass. These species play an important role in Kentucky agriculture; however, the horse parks and cattle farms have replaced the natural ecosystems in the state (Noss, 2013; Campbell, 2014; Campbell, 2010).
In addition to these introduced species, Kentucky has three prominent native clovers: annual buffalo clover, running buffalo clover, and Kentucky clover (Vincent, 2001). Although collections of the native clovers have been made across Kentucky, it is really very uncommon to find these populations unless one knows where someone else has previously found it. It is unlikely that the reader will find these species in the local park or native area.
Annual buffalo clover (Trifolium reflexum), is spread throughout most of the eastern United States. The beautiful blooms have led to its potential as a horticultural species (Quesenberry et al., 2003). Of the native clovers, the genetics of the flowering in annual buffalo clover have been the most explored: red, white, and pink flowers (Quesenberry et al., 2003). At one point, it was favored over naturalized white clover in unimproved grazing lands (Killebrew, 1898).
Running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) is a perennial species limited to the Ohio River Valley and Missouri. Plants spread on thick runners like strawberries. The species was investigated as a potential forage in the 1990s, and has been the subject of interest for herbivory dynamics in the eastern United States. The thick seed coat requires scarification in order for the seed to germinate (Kubesch, 2018; Sustar, 2017). Hoof action has been proposed as a driver in the ecology of the species, but a general disturbance regime seems necessary for the species to persist in the landscape (Kubesch, 2018). With some sandpaper and a few hours of free time, seed can be scarified. Running buffalo clover grows readily in the greenhouse.
