Trifolium pratense 'Wild Red Clover'

[Ex. Yorkshire, England]

Fabaceae: A familiar downy perennial to 40cm, found in grassy places on a wide range of soils. The flowers are pinkish red, in dense, unstalked heads 2-3cm across, appearing from May-October. The leaves are trifoliate, each of the oval leaflets bear a white crescent-shaped mark. Widespread and common throughout the country.

USES:

The leaves and the young flowering heads can be eaten raw or cooked, the young leaves are harvested before the plant comes into flower, and are used in salads, soups etc. On their own they can be used as a vegetable, cooked like spinach, the leaves are best when cooked.

Red clover is a safe and effective herb with a long history of medicinal usage. Commonly used to treat skin conditions, normally in combination with other purifying herbs such as Arctium lappa and Rumex crispus. It is a folk remedy for cancer of the breast, a concentrated decoction being applied to the site of the tumour in order to encourage it to grow outwards and clear the body. Flavonoids in the flowers and leaves are oestrogenic and may be of benefit in the treatment of menopausal complaints. The flowering heads are alterative, antiscrofulous, antispasmodic, aperient, detergent, diuretic, expectorant, sedative and tonic, and it has also shown to have anticancer activity.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Seeds can be sown at any time of the year, may be a little slow to germinate with some evidence that peak germination occurs in autumn.

HARVESTED: 2022

 

APPROX. 1000+ SEEDS