Cloverdale gets its name from once-prolific clover

Cloverdale, the most northern incorporated city in Sonoma County, sits in a “dale” (valley) that was “covered with clover” when American settlers arrived in the 1850s. They considered it to be the sign of a fertile landscape. The plant is considered excellent forage; cows grazing “in clover” produce especially rich milk. Being “in clover” can also refer to a person who is wealthy or enjoying luxury and comfort.

Around thirty native clover species grow in Sonoma County. A number of others have been introduced and cultivated for livestock forage. Clover’s most distinguishing feature is its three-part leaves, reflected in its genus name Trifolium. About one clover in 10,000 has four leaves instead of three, so finding a four-leaf clover is like winning the lottery.

Long before Cloverdale was founded in 1872, Native Americans feasted on clover. The appearance of the green stems was a welcome sight at the end of winter and special dances marked the occasion. A hundred years ago, it was described as “no uncommon sight” to see groups of native people gathered in fields of clover, eating handfuls where they stood and collecting the crisp stems in bandannas to take home.

Many clovers are nutritious, providing protein, beta carotene, and Vitamins C and D. But beware - some species are toxic. Native Americans knew which ones to gather and how to process them. They not only ate the leaves, but the seeds and flowers, too. Using controlled burns, they increased the growth of clover fields, providing food for themselves and for game like elk and deer. The Irish also are said to have been clover-eaters. When St. Patrick plucked a shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity, he may have eaten it afterwards.

Sonoma County’s native clovers are harder to find today than they were a century ago. Their decline seems to be related to the introduction of European field slugs and snails. Showy Indian clover (Trifolium amoenum) was believed to be extinct in the 1980s. In 1993, a single plant was discovered near Occidental in the path of a bulldozer. Botanists collected the seeds and used them to reestablish it in other places. Today, you can occasionally purchase showy Indian clover seeds from native plant nurseries.

For millennia, clover has been closely woven into the Sonoma County’s green heart. Even the bovine punster, “Clo,” mascot of our local “Legend Dairy,” Clover-Stornetta, takes her nickname from it.