# Japanese Clover

*Kummerowia striata*

This plant houses specialized root nodules containing symbiotic bacteria that convert atmospheric nitrogen into natural fertilizer, enriching the surrounding soil.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Fabales › Fabaceae › Kummerowia
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** increasing
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Fields, roadsides, pastures, and disturbed open areas
- **Diet:** Autotrophic (Photosynthesis)
- **Range:** Japan, China, Korea, Eastern United States (introduced)
- **Size:** 10 to 40 cm tall, with prostrate branching stems up to 50 cm long
- **Lifespan:** 1 year (annual)
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Intensive agricultural herbicides and concrete urbanization.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. This plant is completely safe to touch and walk on. It is highly resilient to trampling and is often used as forage for livestock. No special precautions are needed; feel free to examine its tiny, pink-striped flowers up close.

## About

Kummerowia striata is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Japanese clover . It is native to much of Asia and it is present in the eastern United States as an introduced species.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/542b43bb-a95b-4ea6-90ac-1a321b3cd932
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/143558
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kummerowia striata
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/43898751/medium.jpeg (葉子, CC0, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.