Native clover species being dropped from endangered list

A native plant called running buffalo clover that had been considered extinct is being removed from the federal endangered species list after bouncing back in a half-dozen states east of the Mississippi River, officials said Thursday. The perennial gets its name from the stolons, or “runners,” that extend from the base of its stems, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said. Habitat loss and competition from invasive plants such as bluegrass and white clover nearly doomed running buffalo clover, one of the few native clovers in the eastern U.S. Most types that people commonly see in their yards originated in Europe, Thomas-Van Gundy said.