Common Name: Meadow Honeysuckle, Meadow Trefoil, Purple Clover, Trefoil, Wild Clover, Cleaver Grass, Marl Grass, Cow Grass

Parts Used: Harvest flowers and dry for later herb use as it comes into bloom. Harvest edible leaves for salad before flowers fully bloom.

Description: Perennial herb with sweet, salty taste. The long root is a rhizome and sends out runners, producing several stems 1 to 2 feet high, slightly hairy; leaves ternate, leaflets ovate, slightly toothed, ending in long point; often lighter colored V shape in center, flowers red to purple, fragrant, in dense terminal ovoid or round heads. Blooming from April throughout the summer months.

Habitat: Origin believed to be Britain where it is abundant, now a world wide escape, naturalized in nearly every country, even the Arctic Circle, and high up into mountains.

Cultivation and Reproduction: Red Clover is an easily grown plant, from seed or root cuttings, requiring little attention. Grow clover as you would lawn grasses. Clover is an excellent cover crop, planted in fallow areas and turned under in the fall, it makes an excellent fertilizer for poor soils.

Constituents: Isoflavones; biochanin A, daidzein, formononnetin, genistein, pratensein, trifoside. Red clover is now involved in research for a certain medicinal alkaloid 'slaframine' which is often found in diseased clover. This substance has shown anti-diabetic and anti-AIDS activity.

Uses: Red Clover is edible and medicinal, the young leaves and new flowers are harvested, and are used in salads, soups, or as a pot herb. The sprouted seeds are edible in salads and have a crisp texture and robust flavor. A delicate sweet and medicinal tea is made from the fresh or dried flowers, it is alterative, antiscrofulous, antispasmodic, aperient, detergent, diuretic, expectorant, sedative and tonic. Traditionally, the blossoms from this plant were used as a tonic taken in the spring to promote good health and peace of mind. Red Clover is one of the most useful remedies for children with skin problems, and may be used with complete safety in any case of childhood eczema. It may also be of value in other chronic skin conditions such as psoriasis, for both children and adults. Red Clover has also shown anticancer activity, poultices of the herb have been used as local applications to cancerous growths. Internally, the Red Clover plant is used as an alternative medicine for skin complaints such as acne, eczema and psoriasis, cancers of the breast, ovaries and lymphatic system, chronic degenerative diseases, gout, whooping cough and dry coughs. Red Clover is used as a nerve tonic and as a sedative for exhaustion. It is used to strengthen children with weak systems, and is used with children for coughs, bronchitis, wheezing, because it is mild to their systems. It is often used in combination with many other drugs in the treatment of cancer. In the 1940's, this herb received a good deal of notoriety when herbal healer Harry Hoxsey included it in his anti-cancer formula, dubbed the "Red Clover Combination". Although the medical community portrayed him as a hoax, research done by the National Cancer Institute now shows that many of the herbs included in his formula (including Red Clover) do have anti-tumor properties. He was a pioneer in incorporating folklore treatments in cancer therapy. Red Clover may be useful in relieving symptoms of menopause, as it acts like the female sex hormone estrogen. It is also being used in the treatment of AIDS/HIV patients. Medicinal tea: To 1 Tablespoon dry flowers and/or herb add 1 cup boiling water, steep 10 min., sweeten to taste, drink warm for cough and upset stomach. For skin problems, it combines well with Yellow Dock and Nettle.  Bumblebees and honey bees are attracted to its honey scent and nectar; clover honey is a very popular treat.

Miscellaneous: Red Clover has a long history as a religious symbol, probably due to its importance in early agriculture. The ancient Greeks, Romans and Celts of pre-Christian Ireland all considered it sacred. Early Christians linked the plant to the Trinity, and some say Red Clover is the model for the shamrock, Ireland's symbol. Red Clover was also the model for the suit of clubs in playing cards. During the Middle Ages, Red Clover was believed to be a charm protecting against witchcraft, while in the Far East, Red Clover was used for medicinal purposes. In the Middle Ages the clover was considered a charm worn to ward off evil spirits and witches. The four leaf clover was said to have even more power against evil, a five leaf clover was said to be worn by witches to give them evil powers, and a two leaf clover would give a maiden the power to see her future lover. Clover brings luck, prosperity, and health. Carrying a three-leaf clover gives you protection. Worn over the right breast it will bring you success in all undertakings.

Caution: Not to be used during pregnancy, while on birth control pills, for children under two years of age or by persons taking blood thinning agents.

Flower Essence:  Promotes self-aware behavior and a calm and steady presence, especially in emergency situations. Corrects patterns of imbalance, if susceptible to mass hysteria and anxiety or easily influenced by panic or other forms of group thought.