Red clover Health Dictionary

Trifolium pratense. N.O. Leguminosae.

Synonym: Purple Clover, Trefoil.

Habitat: Fields and roadsides.

Features ? This is the common clover of the field, long cultivated by the farmer, and is found growing to a height of one foot or more. The leaves, composed of three leaflets, grow on alternate sides of the stem. The leaflets themselves are broad, oval, pointed, and frequently show a white spot. The stem is hairy and erect, and the red (or, perhaps, purplish-pink) flower-heads (the part of the plant employed in herbal practice) are formed by a large number of separate blossoms at the end of a flower stalk. Both taste and odour are agreeable.

Action: Alterative and sedative.

The infusion (1 ounce to 1 pint of boiling water, which may be drunk freely) makes a reliable medicine for bronchial and spasmodic coughs. The alterative character is best brought out in combination with such agents as Burdock and Blue Flag.

Fernic writes of Red Clover ? "The likelihood is that whatever virtue the Red

Clover can boast for counteracting a scrofulous disposition, and as antidotal to cancer, resides in its highly-elaborated lime, silica, and other earthy salts."