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Difference between revisions of "Red Clover"
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==News About Red Clover == | ==News About Red Clover == | ||
'''Richey: Both red and white clovers are medicinal''' | |||
*Source: http://onlineathens.com/stories/050111/liv_822487093.shtml | |||
:By Holli Richey | |||
If I was limited to only 10 herbs, red clover would be one of them. Fortunately, here in the Southeast, the medicinal plants surrounding us are almost limitless - that is, if we use our resources wisely - so why keep it to 10? | |||
Red clover (Trifolium pratense) appears during mid-spring in yards and pastures after its kin white clover (Trifolium repens) already has been blooming. Foliage of both clovers has three leaflets, except for the lucky anomaly of the four-leaf clover. A leaf is foliage that grows on a separate stem, whereas leaflets are a type of compound leaf that share a common vein. Plants in the Fabiaceae family, or the pea family of which clover is a proud member, commonly have three leaflets, such as our beloved kudzu. That's not a tell-tale feature, however, because poison ivy, which carries the rhyme "three leaves, let it be," is not in the pea family, while red bud trees, which are in the pea family, don't have leaflets. | |||
A distinguishing feature of clover is a whitish crescent shape on each leaflet. White clover's crescent is thinner and rounder than the arrow-type shape appearing on red clover. Red clover blossoms actually are a pinkish purple fading to white at the center, while white clover is white with a magenta center. Red clover also grows a few inches taller than white clover, and has larger, more elongated leaflets. Both clovers are medicinal and edible, so telling them apart isn't a dire necessity. | |||
They are among the earliest species introduced to the New World from Europe, dating back to as early as the 1500s. European settlers planted clovers as an edible crop for cattle, as well as for a cover crop to replenish the nitrogen in the soil before rotating a new crop. If clover appears in your lawn, it's an indication that the soil needs more nitrogen. | |||
Red clover is touted as the more medicinal of the two clovers. Its recent hype is due to its phytoestrogenic constituents formononetin and biochanin A, which convert to daidzein, which is found in soy, and then convert to equol by bowel flora, containing more estrogenic activity than the original precursors, according to Simon Mills, an herbalist at University of Exeter, and Kerry Bone, a biochemist and herbalist in Australia. According to lab studies, Biochanin A might prevent certain cancers. Consuming red clover as a phytoestrogen, or plant-based estrogen, has been beneficial for increasing fertility and moderating menopausal symptoms. | |||
A traditional use of red clover has been for its lymphatic activities. When people have hardened glands or lymph nodes, red clover tea helps to expel toxic build-up and soften the glands. As a lymphatic and blood cleanser, red clover has been used in cases of cancer, but not as a cure. | |||
A lesser known but very effective use of red clover tea is as an expectorant, especially when mixed with mullein, for spasmodic, hacking coughs. White clover leaf tea also was used by Native Americans for coughs. | |||
The Irish, during times when food was scarce, ground red clover flowers and added them to bread flour for nutrition. | |||
A use for red clover that might be popular during final exams was suggested by an early 19th century practitioner in "Ellingwood's Therapeutist" who found red clover to have "a peculiar influence in improving the nutrition to the brain when impaired by overwork, especially in those cases when there is loss of memory for words, confused ideas, or other mental defects from functional causes." If this is you, you better write it down. | |||
'''The Benefits of and Uses for Red Clover''' | '''The Benefits of and Uses for Red Clover''' | ||
*Source:https://www.verywell.com/the-benefits-of-red-clover-89577 | *Source:https://www.verywell.com/the-benefits-of-red-clover-89577 | ||