Popular names: white porridge, white clover, woodpecker, red woodpecker, stable, red head, red clover, red carpet, fever grass, honeydew, honey flower, meadow trefoil, bee bread.
Botanical characteristic. Bean family. Perennial, somewhat sprawling herbaceous plant up to 50 cm high. Taproot, highly branched. The stem is thin, straight, branched. Leaves with three leaflets sit on long petioles, elliptical or obovate. The flowers are pale red or dark purple in color, collected in the form of large spherical heads, under which leaf-shaped green wrappers are placed. The fruit is a one-seeded, ovoid bean. Blooms in July-August.
Spreading. It is widely found on the territory of the USSR, grows in wet meadows, in rare forests, on the edges, along roads.
Medicinal raw materials. Collect only whole inflorescences (spherical heads) together with a wrapper during full flowering. They are cut or torn off at the very base of the head without the remnants of the peduncle. Dry in the open air in the shade under a canopy, in attics, making sure that the raw materials do not dry out; overdried heads crumble easily. Store in a dry dark place.
Chemical composition. Clover flowers contain glycosides (trifolin and isotrifolin), essential oil, ascorbic acid, carotene, B vitamins, alkaloids, resinous substances, fatty oil, isoflavones, bioquinone A. The leaves contain ascorbic acid, pigments, and the grass contains axerophthol, tocopherol , vitamins C, E, carotene, quarcetrin methyl ester, coumaric and salicylic acids, etc.
Pharmacological properties and Application. Leafy tops of clover are used as an expectorant, diuretic and disinfectant. They are prescribed for diseases of the respiratory tract (bronchitis and laryngitis, accompanied by cough). For this purpose, calves use a decoction of clover heads 1:20 for 1/2 -1 cup several times every day. Outwardly, in the form of poultices, clover is prescribed for burns, wounds as an emollient and analgesic.