Common Name: Red Clover

General Information

Trifolium pratense is an erect to decumbent, short-lived, evergreen perennial plant; it produces numerous stems from the root crown; it can grow up to 60cm tall[, ].
Red clover has a wide range of traditional uses as a food and a medicine, and is still often harvested from the wild, often being traded for medicinal use. The plant is also often used as a green manure and in soil improvement schemes.
This species is widespread and known to occur in protected areas and Botanical Gardens worldwide. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

Diseased clover, even if no symptoms of disease are visible, can contain toxic alkaloids[].
Eating this plant can cause bloat, especially if larger quantities are consumed[].

Botanical References

,

Range

Eurasia - Norway to Spain, east to eastern Siberia, central Asia, Afghanistan, India and the Levant; N. Africa - Morocco to Tunisia

Habitat

Meadows, pastures and other grassy places[], especially on calcareous soils. Usually found on circumneutral soils[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Evergreen Perennial
Height	0.40 m
Growth Rate	Medium
Pollinators	Bees, Lepidoptera
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Trifolium pratense is a plant that ranges from cold temperate to subtropical zones, where it is found at elevations up to 3,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 18 - 25°c, but can tolerate 4 - 40°c[]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -5°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at 0°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 700 - 1,200mm, but tolerates 300 - 2,100mm[].
Succeeds in a moist, well-drained circum-neutral soil, growing best in full sun but tolerating light shade[, ]. Prefers a medium-heavy loam[]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7.5, tolerating 4.5 - 8.2[].
A short-lived perennial[].
A very hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to at least -23°c[].
A very important food plant for the caterpillars of many butterfly and moth species[]. It is also a good bee plant[], but not so valuable as the white clover, Trifolium repens[].
It grows well in an apple orchard, the trees will produce tastier fruit that stores better[]. It should not be grown with camellias or gooseberries because it harbours a mite that can cause fruit drop in the gooseberries and premature budding in the camellias[].
Very polymorphic, there are many subspecies and varieties.
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[]. Buttercups growing nearby depress the growth of the nitrogen bacteria by means of a root exudate[].

Edible Uses

Leaves and young flowering heads - 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 cooked[]. They can be dried, powdered and sprinkled on foods such as boiled rice[]. The leaves contain 81% water, 4% protein, 0.7% fat, 2.6% fibre and 2% ash[].

The seed can be sprouted and used in salads. A crisp texture and more robust flavour than alfalfa (Medicago sativa)[]. The seeds are reported as containing trypsin inhibitors[]. These can interfere with certain enzymes that help in the digestion of proteins, but are normally destroyed if the seed is sprouted first.

Flowers and seed pods - dried, ground into a powder and used as a flour[]. The young flowers can also be eaten raw in salads[, ].

Root - cooked[, ].

A delicate sweet herb tea is made from the fresh or dried flowers[, , ].

The dried leaves impart a vanilla flavour to cakes etc[].

Medicinal

Red clover is safe and effective herb with a long history of medicinal usage. It is 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[, , , , ]. It has also shown anticancer activity[, ], poultices of the herb have been used as local applications to cancerous growths[]. Internally, the plant is used in the treatment of skin complaints (especially eczema and psoriasis), cancers of the breast, ovaries and lymphatic system, chronic degenerative diseases, gout, whooping cough and dry coughs[].
The plant is normally harvested for use as it comes into flower[, ] and some reports say that only the flowers are used[].

The toxic indolizidine alkaloid 'slaframine' is often found in diseased clover (even if the clover shows no external symptoms of disease). This alkaloid is being studied for its antidiabetic and anti-AIDS activity[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant makes a good green manure, it is useful for over-wintering, especially in a mixture with Lolium perenne[]. Deep rooting, it produces a good bulk[]. It is a host to 'clover rot' however, so should not be used too frequently[]. It can be undersown with cereals though it may be too vigorous[].
It is also grown with grass mixtures for land reclamation, it has good nitrogen fixing properties[].

Other Uses

A yellow dye is obtained from the flowers[, ].

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and then sow in spring in situ.
If the seed is in short supply it might be better to sow it in pots in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in late spring.
Division in spring[].