The Medicinal Herb Info site was created to help educate visitors about the often forgotten wisdom of the old ways of treating illnesses. Many of today's drugs and medicines were originally derived from natural ingredients, combinations of plants and other items found in nature.

We are not suggesting that you ignore the help of trained medical professionals, simply that you have additional options available for treating illnesses. Often the most effective treatment involves a responsible blend of both modern and traditional treatments.

We wish you peace and health!

Red Clover

Scientific Names

Red Clover

  • Trifolium pratense L.
  • Leguminosae
  • Pea family

Common Names

  • Cleaver grass
  • Cow grass
  • Marl grass
  • Purple clover
  • Trefoil
  • Vana-methika (Sanskrit name)
  • Wild clover

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Parts Usually Used

Flowers
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Wild or red clover is a perennial plant; its short rootstock produces several reddish stems, 1-2 feet high, with close-pressed whitish hairs. The palmate leaves, some basal and come along the stems, have 3 oval to oblong-oval or obovate leaflets which are minutely toothed and sometimes blotched with white. The rose-purple or magenta (to nearly white in some varieties) flowers grow in a dense, ovoid head subtended by a leaf. May to September.
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Where Found

Common in meadows, fields, on lawn edges, and roadsides all over North America and Europe.
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Medicinal Properties

Diuretic, expectorant, antispasmodic, alterative, anti-tumor, mild stimulant
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Biochemical Information

Biotin, choline, copper, coumarins, glycosides, inositol, magnesium, manganese, selenium, vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C, and P, and zinc.
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Legends, Myths and Stories

red clover

Clover, one of the first plants cultivated by man, has been highly regarded since ancient times. The three-leaf clover was associated with the Christian Trinity, and in pre-Christian eras with the triad goddesses of the Celts. The Middle Ages considered clover a charm against witches. Wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) is considered by some authorities to be the true shamrock planted by St. Patrick in Ireland, instead of clover.
The rare four-leaf clover, also a Christian symbol representing the cross, was said to enable its wearer to ward off evil and witches, to see fairies and various spirits, to heal illnesses, to have good fortune, and to escape military service. One leaf stood for fame; the second, wealth; the third for a faithful lover; the fourth for good health. The five-leaf clover was said to be unlucky and the two-leaf clover was to enable a maid to see her future lover.
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Uses

A sweet herb that is a blood purifier, and antibiotic used for tuberculosis and to fight other bacteria. A relaxant, an appetite suppressant. Good for inflamed lungs, colds, flu, cough, fever, whooping cough, and other inflammatory conditions related to gout and arthritis, most glandular ailments, gastric trouble, skin disorders, headaches, neuralgia, and the AIDS virus. Has positive effects on cancer patients when taken with chaparral. A syrupy extract of the flowers can be used externally for persistent sores, burns, abscesses, fever sores, and ulcers, also believed to prevent cancer or arrest tumors. A poultice of the plant can be tried for athlete’s foot and other skin problems. The flowers were formerly smoked in anti-asthma cigarettes. Science has not confirmed traditional uses, though the plant contains many biologically active compounds, including estrogen.
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Formulas or Dosages

The flower heads should be eaten raw (about a dozen daily), or dried and made into an infusion.

Infusion: steep 2 tsp. flowering tops in 1/2 cup water for 10 minutes. Take 1 to 1 1/2 cups a day, with or without honey, a mouthful at a time.

Tincture: a dose is from 5-30 drops, taken in water.
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Nutrient Content

Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C, and P, and zinc.
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How Sold

Capsules: take one, 2 or 3 times a day.
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Warning

Fall or late-cut hay in large quantities can cause frothing, diarrhea, dermatitis, and decreased milk production in cattle. Diseased clover, externally showing no symptoms, may contain the indolizidine alkaloid slaframine, which is much more poisonous than castanospermine, now being studied for anti-AIDS and antidiabetic activity.
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Resource Links

LiveStrong.com: Information on Red Clover Blossoms & Herbs

LiveStrong.com: Red Clover Dangers

LiveStrong.com: Thistle & Clover

LiveStrong.com: Red Clover & Hot Flashes

University of Maryland Medical Center: Red Clover

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Red Clover

National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine: Red Clover

Drugs.com: Red Clover

PubMed.gov: Non-hormonal therapy of post-menopausal vasomotor symptoms: a structured evidence-based review.

PubMed.gov: Treatment strategies for reducing the burden of menopause-associated vasomotor symptoms.

PubMed.gov: Safety and efficacy of black cohosh and red clover for the management of vasomotor symptoms: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed.gov: Improvement of postmenopausal depressive and anxiety symptoms after treatment with isoflavones derived from red clover extracts.

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Bibliography

Buy It! The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.

Buy It! Back to Eden, by Jethro Kloss; Back to Eden Publishing Co., Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994

Buy It! Chinese Medicinal Herbs, compiled by Shih-Chen Li, Georgetown Press, San Francisco, California, 1973.

Buy It! The Herbalist Almanac, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994

Buy It! Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000

Buy It!The Magic of Herbs, by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England. (Out of print)

Buy It! Planetary Herbology, by Michael Tierra, C.A., N.D., O.M.D., Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. WI 53181., Copyright 1988, published 1992

Buy It! The Complete Medicinal Herbal, by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993

Buy It! Indian Herbalogy of North America, by Alma R. Hutchens, Shambala Publications, Inc., Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973

Buy It! Indian Uses of Native Plants, by Edith Van Allen Murphey, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1958, print 1990

Buy It! American Folk Medicine, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973

Buy It! Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Fifth Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements, by James F. Balch, M.D. and Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C., Avery Publishing Group, Inc., Garden City Park, NY

Buy It! Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023

Buy It! The Magic of Herbs in Daily Living, by Richard Lucas, Parker Publishing Co. (1988).

Buy It! A Useful Guide to Herbal Health Care, HCBL (Health Center for Better Living).,1414 Rosemary Lane, Naples, FL 34103., Special Sale Catalog, 1996

Buy It! The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine, by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988.

Buy It! The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book), edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. Emmaus, PA, 18049., 1974

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