Taxon:  Trifolium subterraneum L.



Summary
Genus:
Trifolium
Subgenus:
Trifolium
Section:
Trichocephalum
Family:
Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)
Subfamily:
Faboideae
Tribe:
Trifolieae
Nomen number:
300628
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. 2:767.  1753
Verified:
03/23/2007 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
517 (299  active, 291  available) in National Plant Germplasm System.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Trifolium subterraneum L. subsp. brachycalycinum Katzn. & Morley (17 active accession[s])
Trifolium subterraneum L. subsp. subterraneum (1 active accession[s])
Trifolium subterraneum L. subsp. yanninicum Katzn. & Morley (0 active accession[s])
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)
Seed

Conservation Status

Reference(s)
  1. University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
  2. Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
  3. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
  4. Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya.
  5. APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
  6. Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
  7. Boonman, J. G. 1993. East Africa's grasses and fodders: their ecology and husbandry. 192.
  8. Cooper, M. R. & A. W. Johnson. 1998. Poisonous plants and fungi in Britain: animal and human poisoning Note: poisonous
  9. Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 144-145.
  10. Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
  11. Duke, J. A. 1981. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance
  12. Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
  13. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
  14. Gillett, J. M. & N. L. Taylor (M. Collins ed.). 2001. The world of clovers 402.
  15. Graham, E. H. 1941. Legumes for erosion control and wildlife. USDA Misc. Publ. 412.
  16. Guo, Y. J. et al. 2012. Tolerance of the annual legumes Biserrula pelecinus, Ornithopus sativa, Trifolium spumosum, T. vesiculosum and T. subterraneum to soil acidity. New Zealand J. Agric. Res. 55:1-14.
  17. International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
  18. Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
  19. Jahandiez, E. & R. Maire. 1931-1941. Catalogue des plantes du Maroc.
  20. Kaur, P. et al. . 2017. An advanced reference genome of Trifolium subterraneum L. reveals genes related to agronomic performance . Pl. Biotechnol. J. 15:1034-1046. DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12697.
  21. Kellerman, T. S. et al. 1988. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa Note: poisonous
  22. Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Note: poisonous
  23. Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
  24. Meikle, R. D. 1977-1985. Flora of Cyprus.
  25. National Academy of Sciences. 1979. Tropical legumes: resources for the future
  26. Pignatti, S. 1982. Flora d'Italia.
  27. Piluzza, G. et al. 2005. Discrimination among subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L. complex) genotypes using RAPD markers. Genet. Resources Crop Evol. 52:193-199. Note: it found support for the recognition of three subspecific taxa
  28. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  29. Pottier-Alapetite, G. 1979-1981. Flore de la Tunisie: Angiospermes-Dicotyledones.
  30. Quézel, P. & S. Santa. 1962-1963. Nouvelle flore de l'Algerie.
  31. Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
  32. Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
  33. Silva, L. et al. 2005. Listagem da fauna e flora terrestres dos Açores. Lista des plantas vasculares (Pteridophyta e Spermatophyta).
  34. Smythies, B. E. 1984-1986. Flora of Spain and the Balearic Islands: checklist of vascular plants. Englera 3:1-882.
  35. Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
  36. University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. UC SAREP on-line cover crop database (on-line resource).
  37. Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
  38. Zohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
  39. Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.
  40. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Note: forage crop
Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
Englishsub clover  1Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Englishsubterranean clover  1Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
English (Canada)subterranean clover  Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada official name2Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 144-145.
Frenchtrèfle souterrain  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French (Canada)trèfle souterrain Agriculture & Agroalimentaire Canada nom officiel2Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 144-145.
GermanErdklee  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Italiantrifoglio sotteraneo  2International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Japanese Rōmajijimoguri-tsumekusa  2Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Portuguesetrevo-subterrâneo  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Swedishgrävklöver  2Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNoteReference
1NativeAfricaMacaronesiaPortugalMadeira Islands Zohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeAfricaMacaronesiaSpainCanarias Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaAlgeria  Quézel, P. & S. Santa. 1962-1963. Nouvelle flore de l'Algerie.
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaLibya  Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya.
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaMorocco  Jahandiez, E. & R. Maire. 1931-1941. Catalogue des plantes du Maroc.
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaTunisia  Pottier-Alapetite, G. 1979-1981. Flore de la Tunisie: Angiospermes-Dicotyledones.
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusAzerbaijan  Zohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusGeorgia  Zohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusRussian Federation-CiscaucasiaCiscaucasia Zohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaCyprus  Meikle, R. D. 1977-1985. Flora of Cyprus.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIran  Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIsrael  Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaLebanon  Zohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaSyria  Zohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaTurkey  Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
1NativeEuropeEastern EuropeUkraine incl. KrymZohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeEuropeNorthern EuropeIreland  Zohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeEuropeNorthern EuropeUnited Kingdom   
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeAlbania  Zohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeBulgaria  Zohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeFormer Yugoslavia  Zohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeGreece incl. CreteZohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeItaly incl. Sardinia, SicilyZohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeRomania  Zohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeEuropeSouthwestern EuropeFrance incl. CorsicaZohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeEuropeSouthwestern EuropePortugal  Zohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
1NativeEuropeSouthwestern EuropeSpain incl. BalearesZohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
2Cultivated    also cult. 
2CultivatedAustralasiaNew ZealandNew Zealand  Guo, Y. J. et al. 2012. Tolerance of the annual legumes Biserrula pelecinus, Ornithopus sativa, Trifolium spumosum, T. vesiculosum and T. subterraneum to soil acidity. New Zealand J. Agric. Res. 55:1-14.
4NaturalizedAfricaMacaronesiaPortugalAzores Silva, L. et al. 2005. Listagem da fauna e flora terrestres dos Açores. Lista des plantas vasculares (Pteridophyta e Spermatophyta).
4NaturalizedAustralasiaAustraliaAustralia  Williams, W. M. & S. N. Nichols. 2011. Chapter 13: Trifolium. In: Kole, C., ed., Wild crop relatives: genomic and breeding resources, legume crops and forages 249-272.
4NaturalizedAustralasiaNew ZealandNew Zealand  Williams, W. M. & S. N. Nichols. 2011. Chapter 13: Trifolium. In: Kole, C., ed., Wild crop relatives: genomic and breeding resources, legume crops and forages 249-272.
4NaturalizedNorthern America United States   
4NaturalizedPacificNorth-Central PacificUnited StatesHawaii  
Native
Africa
  • MACARONESIA: Spain [Canarias], Portugal [Madeira Islands]
  • NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia
Asia-Temperate
  • WESTERN ASIA: Cyprus, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
  • CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia], Azerbaijan, Georgia
Europe
  • NORTHERN EUROPE: United Kingdom, Ireland
  • EASTERN EUROPE: Ukraine (incl. Krym)
  • SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece (incl. Crete), Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), Romania
  • SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain (incl. Baleares), France (incl. Corsica), Portugal
Cultivated

  • REGION:
Australasia
  • NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand
Naturalized
Africa
  • MACARONESIA: Portugal [Azores]
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia
  • NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand
Northern America
  • REGION: United States
Pacific
  • NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]

Reference(s)
  1. Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya.
  2. Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
  3. Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
  4. Guo, Y. J. et al. 2012. Tolerance of the annual legumes Biserrula pelecinus, Ornithopus sativa, Trifolium spumosum, T. vesiculosum and T. subterraneum to soil acidity. New Zealand J. Agric. Res. 55:1-14.
  5. Jahandiez, E. & R. Maire. 1931-1941. Catalogue des plantes du Maroc.
  6. Meikle, R. D. 1977-1985. Flora of Cyprus.
  7. Pottier-Alapetite, G. 1979-1981. Flore de la Tunisie: Angiospermes-Dicotyledones.
  8. Quézel, P. & S. Santa. 1962-1963. Nouvelle flore de l'Algerie.
  9. Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
  10. Silva, L. et al. 2005. Listagem da fauna e flora terrestres dos Açores. Lista des plantas vasculares (Pteridophyta e Spermatophyta).
  11. Williams, W. M. & S. N. Nichols. 2011. Chapter 13: Trifolium. In: Kole, C., ed., Wild crop relatives: genomic and breeding resources, legume crops and forages 249-272.
  12. Zohary, M. & D. Heller. 1984. The genus Trifolium 525.
  13. Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Animal foodforage Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Animal foodforage Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Environmentalerosion control University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. UC SAREP on-line cover crop database (on-line resource).
Environmentalsoil improver University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. UC SAREP on-line cover crop database (on-line resource).
Vertebrate poisonsmammals Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Note: poisonous
Vertebrate poisonsmammals Kellerman, T. S. et al. 1988. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa Note: poisonous
Vertebrate poisonsmammals Cooper, M. R. & A. W. Johnson. 1998. Poisonous plants and fungi in Britain: animal and human poisoning Note: poisonous
Weed  Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=300628. Accessed 15 April 2026.