LEAFLT 67SEPTEMBER 1962
ARROWLEAF CLOVER
C. S. HOVELAND, Associate Agronomnist
iAi1055LEAF ( LOX LI (I-ifo/lMm VCSi-
ciiosiiii Sax i is a wxinter annual leguime
Italx inl 1956a. It wxas plainted inl ft(e inl
tiodlletiioii gyairlen at Aiihiiri (T ix ersitx
\g entinalExpeiimenit Statumion th
fall of 1959at. For the last 2 x ears this
cilovier has b een tested l 0xi el Itials at
six ti al locations inl Alahama. Sex era]
eo11lnieriail plaiitiiigs has e beenl mlade' hx
hiarm ers al ( a Iilinitedl q iaiit itx of Seedf is
lieiiig poiolicttl.
'this pliflie-atitoii 
SiilIlloi 1es the( 
ie-
search ijifoi ilatii( as ailalle oil arrossleaf
(lostr inl Alabamna.
DESCRIPTION
Ariross tatd (-io\ ti muakes its earlx iio\\til
f1011] a leafk i osette, later produiieiii
hrallilig sternis that Cuirxve upwssard foi
2 1 to 49) iielies. The mm liidlloss. pirph
stemlls hteiiui fili ((s and hai d ltar ioa-
tiiiitx.
L,(,i pc
t
tiiilts aie ) tio 8 iii(lies lii'
a(t the hase of \x imel aire boug( white stip-
tides narrossed tii a point. T1he heasves are
large, eaeli1 iif theC tlie le-afles heiiig
V'2 to :3 indies 10ug( and 1 tti 1i4 ili
xs ide. Each an owss liapt d tioi-fair v le af
let has piommoillmed x ems aiid desvelops
al sslite. V-shaped inamk as it inatin-es.
T3he flowser lieads are largye, often ex-
eeediiigy 2 iiiehies inl lem igth anld 114 inetCS
inl diameteir. Firoin 1501 to I TI iniidiiial
flouiets mauke ill) the head. F'lorets hegmi
mnaturling at the hase of the( head, blmig
wxhlte at fiirst aid latmr tiiin g piiple.
Thus gris es the head a pinrple anditi lte
sti i pd ulppeariaile. Eaeli of tI e fi n ets
prodiiees 2 tio 3 seeds. 'I'he i roughi lo \
seed ar e abdut tsx ( the sie of, thiiste
pr ohdit f.\ lit] iil ii eLis I. If t le m
Typical leaf of orrowleaf clover is shown
here. The arrow-shaped leaflets have pro-
nounced veints anmd a white V-shaped mark.
A GR IC UL TU RA L E X PE R I ME N T
E.V.Smt, irctr AUBURN UNIVERSITY
S T ATIO N
Auburn, Alabama
LEAFLET 67
E. V. Smith, Diredor
Arrowleaf clover in bloom shows the charac-
teristic large flower heads that often exceed
2 inches long ond 11 4 inches in diameter.
RESULTS of EXPERIMENTS
2-3:38 16) , and late' litt i(((1 P.
2:3:37S2 ). ()I tllt'XC, tiic tilI and( in('liI((t
XXri':Iilt Ih \u the X los p('1(1s ti'jl
ti (il14 Xtr~ti(l i. 4(1 ((XX Itf P. I. 2:3:381 6. he-
2:338 16.
196 il~( t s('X(Ill locations( in iabli b\I4((I
i1lcte st'Xi Ut I'i (,1(1 ( 4Xf hclltld
lia!k c~l 441'l Xelcitle 1((1I op(XX111XXU
totlm 10 ((I(t'i(( ForIw t ldXI XU Xjilijr.s
2:) :Sf I G :113 1
0)l. 1.1b.
I962 \\ oftc I 9() 7 1 551t
To tl :3726 :332(0
Totill 2459
To' tal 23:34
Total,1 :30(65 19:3:3
1962 \\ (ii ic 1 1;) -1-1(
Total 60(95 5S261
Lb.
1:348
4180
5186
11.11
3611
12()2
:3764
69-4
:30 15
Alcxandria H'xpci-inwiit F iuld
Tuslicgcc 1, xpcrinwnt Field
Pic(lilloillt Slihstatioll
plailt Bret'dill", tnit
GlIf Coilst Sllb tatioll
All tc. t \\cIc plalltcd oil pl-cpiticd scedbeds (-iccpt itt thc Piedmont Sitb tatioll \01cre
I)liklitill" \\ZLS Mit(IC Oil COXA;il BCllllllda!,'l-iiYS soid.
tures. Since arrowleaf clover makes most
of its growth in late spring, it may suffer
severely during hot, dry weather in May.
Thus, production from year to year will
probably vary more for arrowleaf than
for crimson clover.
Poor inoculation has been a serious
problem with arrowleaf clover on some
soils. This delays winter production and
decreases the total yield of forage. In-
oculating seed and planting under ap-
parently favorable conditions have not
always resulted in good inoculation and
early growth. For example, at the Plant
Breeding Unit, Tallassee, the planting
made in September 1960 did not become
inoculated until February 1961. Plant-
ings made the following fall never be-
came inoculated and consequently pro-
duced nothing.
Arrowleaf clover is a good seed pro-
ducer and has a high percentage of hard
seed. The bladder pods in the large heads
hold seed well, reducing losses from shat-
tering. Its reseeding ability has been ex-
cellent on a crabgrass area at Auburn
and at the Tuskegee Experiment Field.
However, poor reseeding was obtained
with arrowleaf clover on Coastal Ber-
mudagrass sod at the Piedmont Substa-
tion, Camp Hill, where ball clover re-
seeded well.
Seed of arrowleaf clover do not germi-
nate well at high temperatures. Germina-
tion tests with scarified seed at alternat-
ing temperatures of 70' F for 16 hours
and 100' F for 8 hours resulted in germ-
ination of only 16 per cent as compared
with 68 per cent for crimson clover.
Field observations also suggest that ar-
rowleaf does not germinate and produce
seedlings as early in the fall as crimson
clover. At low temperature, however,
germination of arrowleaf is considerably
more rapid than crimson clover.
SUMMARY
Arrowleaf clover is a new winter an-
nual introduction from Italy that may
have a place for late spring forage pro-
duction in Alabama. Yields have varied
from fair to excellent, depending on
whether plants become inoculated. Late
spring droughts may also reduce yields
in certain years. Poor inoculation has
generally occurred on sandy soils. No
data are available concerning animal per-
formance on arrowleaf clover; conse-
quently, its nutritive value has not yet
been determined.