Red Clover - What Medicinal Use Does Red Clover Offer

Overview:

Red clover is a popular tonic herb. It has a sweet taste and is easily recognized by beginning herbalists. Red clover is used for women's issues, as a powerful addition to their herbal medicine chest.

Latin Name:

Trifolium pratense

Common Name:

Red clover

USDA Hardiness Zone:

Zone 5-9

Exposure:

Full sun to partial shade. Red clover will grow just about anywhere.

Harvest:

Harvest the blossoms. Pick by hand, as they bloom. This is best done early in the morning before the heat of the sun drives the sweet nectar down to the lower parts of the plant. Dry the blooms out of direct sunlight. They should be dark purple to reddish colored when fully dry.

Uses:

Red clover is an important herb to know. The blossoms are easy to pick and the few tiny leaves that sometimes are attached can also be included in the harvest.

Use the flowers as a tasty accent in your salad or freeze individual blooms in ice cubes for a pretty addition to a pitcher of lemonade or tea.

Red clover blossoms are traditionally used for menopause issues, as they are said to helps balance the estrogen levels during this time. Red clover is also used in herbal cancer fighting treatments. This herb does have a blood thinning effect, and should not be used by anyone taking blood thinning drugs.

Red clover can be used as a cover crop in your garden area, as well as wildcrafted from clean, wild places.