Red Clover ( Trifolium pratense )

Saturday so busy at the Lodge.  Another shot from our "wildflower meadow".  Clover being a Legume are important plants for at least two reasons.  Obviously they are a good source of food for pollinators otherwise we wouldn't have used them.  The other advantage, along with all other legumes, is the fixing of nitrogen, a plant "food".

Legumes have nodules on the roots, that contain bacteria.  These bacteria convert soil nitrogen (ammonia) into nitrates.  Nitrates are essential to the plants for building proteins and making DNA.  On a more mundane level nitrogen makes sure the plant has strong green leafy growth.