Zigzag Clover - Trifolium medium

The stems are rather zig-zagged and the flowers large - 25 to 35 mm deep reddish purple.

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense). To distinguish from Red Clover, the free part of  Red Clover's stipules are narrowed to a bristle-like point whereas the free part of Zigzag's are more like an isosceles triangle.  Zigzag also has narrower leaflets which are less hairy.

• 'zig-zag' stems
• large, red flowers
• narrow and less hairy leaves than Red Clover
• stipules shaped like an isosceles triangle

A photograph of the plant, showing stipules

Grassland, roadside and railway verges and quarries, often on poor soil.

May to July.

Rhizomatous perennial.

Found throughout Britain, but scarce in East Anglia.

Occasional in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 112 of the 617 tetrads.

In the current checklist (Jeeves 2011) it is listed as Native; occasional