Back to Legume Species

Berseem Clover (Trifolium alexandrinum)

Plant Species
From Montana Interagency Plant Materials Handbook *
 By S. Smoliak, R.L. Ditterline, J.D. Scheetz, L.K. Holzworth, J.R. Sims, L.E. Wiesner, D.E. Baldridge, and G.L. Tibke

Berseem clover, also called Egyptian clover, is an upright-growing, annual legume. It is thought to have originated in the Middle East. Today, the country of greatest use is Egypt where it is grown on nearly four million acres. Berseem clover was introduced into California as early as 1896, into Texas by 1916 and into Florida by 1950. Preliminary studies of berseem clover at the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station were begun by Jim Sims and Ray Ditterline in 1983.

Description

Berseem clover is an erect-growing, good nitrogen-fixing, annual legume with oblong, slightly-hairy leaflets lacking a watermark. It has hollow stems and a short taproot. Flowers are yellowish-white, self-sterile and clustered in dense, elliptical heads about 1 inch long. Each floret produces one roughly-spherical, yellow or purplish-red seed. When it reaches a height of 16 to 20 inches, buds from 1 to 2 inches long develop from nodes for the cotyledons and first two leaves. Under ideal conditions seed production is abundant, and seed weight averages 200,000 seeds per pound. Cross pollination is accomplished by honey bees. Crude protein of berseem clover ranges from 20 to 30 percent depending on cultivar and growing conditions. Although no work has been conducted in Montana on bloat hazard, bloat has not been reported for animals feeding on berseem clover in other areas. Most berseem clover lines are non-reseeding, but the cultivar `Bigbee' is reported to produce adequate hard seed for reseeding stands.

Adaptation

Berseem clover, a cool-season, forage crop, is best adapted as a winter annual in regions with Mediterranean climates. It has been successfully grown in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Florida and Mississippi. It is not well adapted to hot weather, and prefers areas with long, warm winters where there is little danger of frost.

However, in regions characterized by moist, cool summers, berseem clover can be grown as a summer annual. The cultivar `Bigbee' which was developed for increased winterhardiness in Mississippi, has survived temperatures as low as 18 C during a short (one-week) cold spell. `Bigbee' performed well as a summer annual when seeded in early to mid-May at Bozeman, Montana in a 1987 seeding-date trial. Although berseem clover grows well on a variety of soils, it prefers a medium-loam soil that is slightly alkaline. It is reported to be similar to alfalfa (Medicago sativa) in drought tolerance, but can tolerate more soil moisture than alfalfa or sweetclover (Melilothus sp.).

* The Montana Interagency Plant Materials Handbook (EB69) is no longer in print, but is available for viewing in
Montana County Extension Service and National Resource Conservation Service Offices.