Popular names: redhead, red porridge, woodpecker, honey color, meadow trefoil, trinity.
Parts Used: Flowers.
Pharmacy name: red clover flowers – Trifolii pratensis flos (formerly: Flores Trifolii pratensis).
Botanical description. Many shoots grow from a short rhizome, but only a part of them form inflorescences. The leaves are ternary; the lower ones have longish petioles, the upper ones have short ones. Leaflets are ovate or elliptical, bright green, with light spots. Small purple-red flowers are collected in heads. They have a lot of nectar, but they serve as a good “honey pasture” only for bumblebees with their longish proboscis. Blooms from May to September. Grown in clover fields, from where it spreads through meadows and along roads.
Collection and preparation. Collect inflorescences and lay out to dry in a ventilated area.
Active ingredients: tannins and various glycosides, as well as phenolic compounds and isoflavones.
Healing action and application. Thanks to tannins, clover can be used for a variety of inflammations of the mucous membranes, including the intestines (diarrhea). Can be applied to wounds as a lotion. The active ingredients of clover have not yet been studied enough to be used by official medicine.
Application in folk medicine. Clover is used against many diseases, but mainly in rural areas, most likely because there it is unlimited. Tea is made from it. Clover tea, sweetened with honey (not sweet for diabetics!), is good for coughs and liver diseases. It is also considered an excellent blood purifier.
- Clover tea: 4-6 dry heads (inflorescences) pour 1/4 liter of boiling water and leave for 15 minutes; after straining, sweeten with honey. For blood purification, 2-3 cups of tea are recommended every day for 4-6 weeks.
Side effects are not to be feared.
Side effects . Creeping clover, or white, (Trifolium repens L.) is distinguished by white flowers, a creeping stem and smaller leaves. In folk medicine, it is used for rheumatism and gout. Tea is prepared in the same way as from red clover.