WHITE CLOVER AND COMPHRENA SERRATA: Groundcover twin revealed
by Brad Jones/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER
Gomphrena serrata/PHOTO BY BRADLEY JONES
White Clover/PICTURE CONTRIBUTED BY KATHY BUSCHER/PIXABAY
The world is full of lookalikes, and that can be true for plants. With all the recent attention given to finding alternatives to turf grass, I was asked to write an article on the gaining interest of using white clover (Trifolium repens) to replace traditional water intensive lawns like St. Augustine and Bermuda.
After receiving the assignment and reading a reference article, my first thought was: I think I have this in my yard. What I found was a totally different plant: Gomphrena serrata or arrasa con todo, a native groundcover and garden herb that looked very similar. Botanists identify plants by looking primarily at the plant’s leaves, flowers, and roots.
Being a “lay” gardener, I just took a picture with my smart phone and used a plant identification app to confirm that what I had wasn’t white clover but Gomphrena from the Amaranth Family. Not long after, I was sent photos from an excited fellow master gardener that discovered “white clover” growing in Victoria.
When I closely examined the shape of the flower and leaf in the photo, I could tell that she was deceived by the same doppelganger or twin plant that I had been fooled by: Gomphrena Weed.
Gomphrena serrata is native herb that grows primarily in Texas and Florida, but may also be found in Louisiana, Georgia, Virgina, and Maryland. Not to be confused with its more popular South American cousin, Bachelor Button (Gomphrena globosa). Unlike white clover, this plant flowers year-round and its color can range from red to pink to white.
This plant has been known to spread rapidly becoming difficult to control. It has become adapted to a wide range of soils and growing conditions. It is also low maintenance and is drought tolerant, requiring less water than clover.
Arrasa con todo translates to “Destroy Everything” and is often sold as cuttings in Mexican culture for herbal baths to improve ones’ mood. Seeds and plants may be difficult to find in stores. However, if you find seeds or harvest your own, the best time to plant will be late fall to early winter – November-January.
Like most South Texas homeowners with a yard, I am all too familiar with the invasive yellow bur clover that arrives early spring and just takes over the lawn. Even though White or Dutch Clover also originated from Europe, it is a totally different plant. Being a micro clover, it will not grow as large, it will be more low maintenance and doesn’t have burs. This clover should also thrive longer in our climate and will bloom later in the spring in May.
White clover is adapted to clay and silt soils in humid and irrigated areas. It enjoys full sun and has a USDA hardiness zone of 6-9. Victoria is in zone 9b. If you are not interested in replacing your existing lawn, white clover can be easily reseeded in your traditional turf grass to keep your yard staying green during the winter and to improve the soil quality.
Remember to mow your grass on a low setting and dethatch or rake your existing lawn before seeding. Seeds are readily available from most seed companies, and the best time to plant will be from November to late January.
Whether you choose white clover or Gomphrena weed as a lawn substitute, you will find that both are low maintenance alternatives to turf grass. Either one should reduce the number of times you mow and require less watering than traditional lawns. They will also add variety to your landscape, making it a healthier ecosystem: providing flowers and pollen that will benefit a variety of wildlife including birds and butterflies.
What is not to like about planting new lawn substitutes? Hopefully, you will consider planting either white clover or Gomphrena serrata this season.