Common Name: Red Clover

Genus & Species: Trifolium pratense L.

Family: Fabaceae

Similar Species: White Clover (Trifolium repens) which is a much lower growing creeping plant with white flowers (although confusingly Red Clover can have white flowers too occasionally). This is the one usually found in lawns.

Range and Habitat: The red clover is native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwest Africa, but it has been naturalised in other continents, like North and South America. It is a common plant of all kinds of grassy areas in the UK, from lawns to pastures, roadsides to meadows, especially on calcareous soils. Usually found on circumneutral soils.

General ID: Red clover is a herbaceous, short-lived perennial plant, variable in size, growing to 20–80cm tall. It has a deep taproot which makes it tolerant to drought and gives it a good soil structuring effect. The leaves are alternate, trifoliate (with three leaflets), each leaflet 15–30mm long and 8–15mm broad, green with a characteristic pale crescent in the outer half of the leaf; the petiole is 1–4cm long, with two basal stipules that are abruptly narrowed to a bristle-like point. The flowers are dark pink with a paler base, 12–15mm long, produced in a dense inflorescence.

For food… Red clover's young flowers and leaves are edible raw in salads or cooked, and can be added as garnishes to any dish. They can also be ground into a flour. The flowers often are used to make jelly and tisanes, and are used in essiac recipes. The young leaves are harvested before the plant comes into flower, and are used in salads, soups etc. On their own they can be used as a vegetable, cooked like spinach. The leaves are best cooked. They can be dried, powdered and sprinkled on foods such as boiled rice.

The seed can be sprouted and used in salads yielding a crisp and robust texture. The seeds are reported as containing trypsin inhibitors. These can interfere with certain enzymes that help in the digestion of proteins, but are normally destroyed if the seed is sprouted first.

Flowers and seed pods can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a flour. The root can also be cooked. A delicate sweet herb tea is made from the fresh or dried flowers. The dried leaves impart a vanilla flavour to cakes etc.

For healing… Red clover has a long history of medicinal usage. Their essential oil may be extracted and its unique scent used in aromatherapy. In traditional medicine of India as deobstruent, antispasmodic, expectorant, sedative, anti-inflammatory and antidermatosis agent. Various Native American cultures used the plant for sore eyes. In alternative medicine, red clover is promoted as a treatment for a variety of human maladies, including symptoms of menopause, coughs, disorders of the lymphatic system and a variety of cancers.

Several systemic reviews and meta-analyses concluded that red clover extract reduces the frequency of menopause hot flushes. Most added that further research is needed to confirm the results. It has also been said to have shown anticancer activity, with poultices of the herb being used as local applications to cancerous growths. It is a folk remedy for cancer of the breast, a concentrated decoction being applied to the site of the tumour in order to encourage it to grow outwards and clear the body. However, there is no evidence in the human trial literature that red clover has been tested for effects on cough, lymphatic system or cancer prevention/treatment.

Dietary amounts of red clover are considered safe, but dietary supplement extracts may cause rash-like reactions, muscle ache, headache, nausea, vaginal bleeding in women, and slow blood clotting.

Red clover contains coumestrol, a phytoestrogen. Due to its activity on oestrogen receptors, red clover is contraindicated in people with a history of breast cancer, endometriosis, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, uterine fibroids or other oestrogen-sensitive conditions, although some authors have suggested the high isoflavone content counteracts this, and even provides benefits in these conditions. It is said to be a blood cleanser.

Due to its coumarin derivatives it should be used with caution in individuals with coagulation disorders or currently undergoing anticoagulation therapy. It is metabolised by CYP3A4 and therefore caution should be used when taking it with other drugs using this metabolic pathway.

It is commonly used to treat skin conditions, normally in combination with other purifying herbs such as Arctium lappa and Rumex crispus. The flowering heads are alterative, antiscrofulous, antispasmodic, aperient, detergent, diuretic, expectorant, sedative and tonic.

Internally, the plant is used in the treatment of skin complaints (especially eczema and psoriasis), cancers of the breast, ovaries and lymphatic system, chronic degenerative diseases, gout, whooping cough and dry coughs.

The plant is normally harvested for use as it comes into flower and some reports say that only the flowers are used. The toxic indolizidine alkaloid 'slaframine' is often found in diseased clover (even if the clover shows no external symptoms of disease). This alkaloid is being studied for its antidiabetic and anti-AIDS activity.

In culture… It is sown as a fodder crop for livestock and has long been used in crop rotation systems because of its ability to fix nitrogen, enriching soils.

It is the national flower of Denmark and the state flower of Vermont. The leaves, particularly the rare 4 leaved clovers, were worn to bring luck and ward off witches and warlocks.

In Greek and Roman mythology, the three-leaf clover represents the triad goddesses. The rare four-leaf clover became a popular Christian symbol due to the cross shape. In medieval folk rhyme, the four-leaf clover symbolizes complete happiness. Each leaf is thought to represent a different aspect of happiness including fame, wealth, faithful lover, and excellent health.

It is also said to be a mystic plant ‘favoured by fairies’ and clasping it in your hand could endow you with ‘fairy sight’ and to help one dream of one’s future lover or spouse. It has been associated by witches for spells to encourage wealth, affluence and abundance of all sorts, being added to bathwater to aid in financial matters and often used in love potions.

For wildlife… The trefoil leaves are collected by Wood Mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) and the nectar-rich flowers, which appear from May to October, are sought after by many species of bumblebees for their nectar, including the Common carder bee (Bombus pascuorum), Honeybee (Apis mellifera) and Red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidaries).

It is also attractive to butterflies such as the Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus), Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris), Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola) and Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) and moths including the Garden Dart (Euxoa nigricans), Latticed Heath (Chiasmia clathrate), Chalk Carpet (Scotopteryx bipunctaria), Belted Beauty (Lycia zonaria), Mother Shipton (Callistege mi), Shaded Broad Bar (Scotopteryx chenopodiata), Narrow-bordered 5-spot Burnet (Zygaena lonicerae), Silver Y (Autographa gamma), Beaded Chestnut (Agrochola lychnidis) and the Burnet Companion (Euclidia glyphica).

At FFPG… Red clover can be found along the hedgerow at the back of the FFPG site.

Disclaimer:

This is intended for information only. FFPG, its staff, trustees and volunteers do not make any claim as to the safety or efficacy of plants listed for medicinal purposes and do not encourage the consumption or use of any of the plants listed herein. Anybody wishing to use plants for medicinal effect is advised to consult their medical professional.