Classification of a world collection of white clover cultivars

Summary Morphology, flowering, cyanogenesis and leaf markings of 109 white clover (Trifolium repens L.) cultivars, grown as spaced plants and in small plots, were measured. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to compare cultivars. Cultivars were classified into four broad groups. The most important criteria for distinguishing between groups were leaf size, cyanogenesis and combinations of these. Group I, termed small, included small-leaved, prostrate cultivars; Group II, termed intermediate, included the majority of the cultivars which were characterised by medium sized leaves and relatively low cyanogenesis levels; Group III, termed large, included the large-leaved highly cyanogenic cultivars; and Group IV, termed ladino, included large-leaved acyanogenic cultivars.