trefoil

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: trefoil

1	n	a plant of the genus Trifolium
2	n	an architectural ornament in the form of three arcs arranged in a circle
3	n	any of several Old World herbs of the genus Medicago having small flowers and trifoliate compound leaves

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: trefoil

Types:: show 6 types...; hide 6 types...; Trifolium alpinum, alpine clover
European mountain clover with fragrant usually pink flowers; Trifolium dubium, hop clover, lesser yellow trefoil, shamrock
clover native to Ireland with yellowish flowers; often considered the true or original shamrock; Italian clover, Trifolium incarnatum, crimson clover
southern European annual with spiky heads of crimson flower; extensively cultivated in United States for forage; Trifolium pratense, purple clover, red clover
erect to decumbent short-lived perennial having red-purple to pink flowers; the most commonly grown forage clover; Trifolium reflexum, Trifolium stoloniferum, buffalo clover
clover of western United States; Trifolium repens, dutch clover, shamrock, white clover
creeping European clover having white to pink flowers and bright green leaves; naturalized in United States; widely grown for forage

Type of:: herb, herbaceous plant
a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests

Type of:: architectural ornament
(architecture) something added to a building to improve its appearance

Types:: show 5 types...; hide 5 types...; Medicago arborea, moon trefoil
evergreen shrub of southern European highlands having downy foliage and a succession of yellow flowers throughout the summer followed by curious snail-shaped pods; Medicago falcata, sickle alfalfa, sickle lucerne, sickle medick
European medic naturalized in North America having yellow flowers and sickle-shaped pods; Calvary clover, Medicago echinus, Medicago intertexta
an annual of the Mediterranean area having spiny seed pods and leaves with dark spots; Medicago lupulina, black medick, hop clover, nonesuch clover, yellow trefoil
prostrate European herb with small yellow flowers and curved black pods; naturalized in North America; Medicago sativa, alfalfa, lucerne
important European leguminous forage plant with trifoliate leaves and blue-violet flowers grown widely as a pasture and hay crop

Type of:: herb, herbaceous plant
a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests

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