Clover, Western

Information on Western Clover

Common Name: Western Clover
Scientific Name: Trifolium occidentale
Irish Name: Seamair mhara
Family Group: Fabaceae
Distribution: View Map (Courtesy of the BSBI)
Flowering Period


Click for list of all flowering by month
Western Clover could sometimes be confused with:

Clover, White,

Western Clover could be confused with White Clover very easily but there are a few points that help to confirm your find is this species. This is a low-growing plant that bears clusters (to 25mm) of white to pink peaflowers, somewhat smaller than those of White Clover and, unlike that species, Western Clover is unscented. The stipules and calyx are deep red. The trifoliate leaflets are blue-green, small – less than 10mm – and they are far more rounded than those of White Clover; also they do not have whitish marks and the lateral veins are not translucent. The leaf stalks are downy. Preferring dry ground near to the sea – it is only found within 100 metres of the sea – this perennial, native species flowers from April to July and it belongs to the Pea or Fabaceae family.

I first saw this species in July 2019 near Lady’s Island in County Wexford and saw it also at Bannow Island, County Wexford. 

If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre

Western Clover was first discovered in Ireland in June 1979 and is mainly found in coastal areas of Counties Dublin, Wexford and Waterford. It had been identified as a new species in Cornwall and the Channel Islands in 1961. In the panel below, the leaf of Western Clover is to the left, beside the leaf of White Clover. 

Clover, Western
Clover, Western
Clover, Western
Clover, Western