Recovering the globally rare Kentucky Clover in the Inner Bluegrass Region

By: Tara Littlefield

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Big news for native clover conservation in the Bluegrass State! Several years of conservation collaboration has resulted in the first transplants of the globally rare Kentucky Clover back into the Bluegrass Woodlands this fall!  This endangered clover was discovered (2010) and described (2013) recently and was known from only two privately owned limestone woodlands in the Inner bluegrass of Kentucky.  Since its discovery, the Kentucky clover had disappeared from both sites despite annual monitoring and management efforts conducted by Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves Botanist Tara Littlefield and KDFWR biologist Joe Lacefield.  Luckily, seed collection and propagation efforts were successful due to our collaborative efforts with Valerie Pence, Kristine Lindsey, and Mairead Kennedy from the Cincinnati zoo CREWs plant program, among many other partners, and the first batch of Kentucky Clover plants was transferred to OKNP in order to transplant into high quality, managed limestone woodlands. 

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After several years of managing transplant sites for removal of invasive species such as bush honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), OKNP staff and partners transplanted 75 Kentucky clover plants back into the original Franklin county site as well as transplanted new populations into 3 additional protected high-quality natural areas in Franklin county. OKNP botanists and partners will be monitoring the success of these transplants over the next several years and conducting quantitative studies on how best to manage for this rare clover and its unique limestone woodland habitat.

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The power of partnership is key to conserving rare plants and the collaborative approach of the Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance has made these recovery efforts possible. if you would like to help with these or other plant conservation alliance projects, please contact tara.littlefield@ky.gov.