Mammoth Red

Mammoth Red is the late-flowering, single-cut class of red clover (Trifolium pratense), and the distinction from ordinary medium red clover is agronomic, not cosmetic. Feedipedia separates red clover into early-flowering medium types giving at least two cuttings a season and late-flowering mammoth types giving one; University of Missouri Extension adds that mammoth grows taller with slightly coarser stems and does not regrow well after harvest, which is why Missouri explicitly does not recommend it for their forage systems. For a permaculture grower that weakness is often the point: one big flush of biomass, a deep taproot that opens compacted clay, and a long pollinator bloom rather than a mowing regime. Johnny's sells it as a biennial cover crop, extremely cold hardy and well suited to frost seeding, and Territorial highlights the same clay-breaking taproot and organic-matter return. It is best understood as a seed-trade type with consistent behaviour rather than a single protected cultivar, so expect some variation between seed lots and suppliers.