Above: Red Clover blossoms in the dehydrator.
This blog post is part of my 2021 Herbal Oil Blog Series and addresses Red Clover, including how to make a Red Clover-infused oil.
Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
Red Clover is another early summer bloomer that fortunately lasts for a much longer period than our last herb, Wild Rose.
From fields and meadows to roadsides and ditches, Red Clover has abundantly naturalized to most temperate regions of the world. Its characteristics make it easy to identify: the green leaves grow in 3’s with a crescent of white splashed on each, and the blossoms are actually thick clusters of tiny purplish-red flowers (called inflorescences).
I was first exposed to Red Clover on an herb walk, where I was encouraged to pick the blossoms and take them to make my breasts bigger (a common misconception).
While Red Clover will not make one’s breasts larger, it has many wonderful benefits on the liver and lymph— which positively affects the breasts— and the lungs.
Red Clover is a gentle and safe nutritive herb that can be strongly effective when taken over a period of time. Its energetics are cool and slightly moistening, and its sweetness makes a delicious tea and a wonderfully-smelling infused oil.
Internal Use
Tea, tincture, vinegar, capsules, syrup
Red Clover is an alterative, which I widely speak about in this series. Alteratives enhance the function of 3 or more eliminatory systems— in this case it’s the lymph, liver, and lungs. Because it is an alterative that works on the lymph, it is also considered a lymph tonic.
As an alterative and lymph tonic, Red Clover is useful for conditions of lymphatic stagnation, including fibrocystic breasts, swollen lymph nodes, and lymphedema. As fibrocystic breasts are usually caused by cyclical swelling, use Red Clover with herbs that work on the hormones as well, like Chaste berry or White Peony, and herbs that encourage the liver and gut to clear excess estrogen, such as Dandelion root. It is also helpful for infections affecting lymph tissue, such as mastitis and lymph node infection (lymphadenitis) — use along with anti-bacterial and heat-clearing herbs.
Red Clover has a long history of traditional use for cancer—especially breast, lymphatic, and lung— and modern research backs this up. One of its isoflavones, Genistein, was shown to have an inhibitory effect on cancer metastasis (Spagnuolo et al., 2015). Because Red Clover has isoflavones, some believe that it is contraindicated for estrogen-sensitive cancers. Research actually shows the opposite, that soy isoflavones, similar to Red Clover’s, promote better survival times and less recurrence if ingested by women with breast cancer (Guha et al., 2009; Shu et al., 2009).
In addition, Red Clover, with its slightly moistening nature, can be made into a tea or syrup for coughs, especially dry, ticklish, and irritating ones.
Due to its high vitamin and mineral content, Red Clover is an extremely nutritive herb, and the tea, vinegar, or powdered and encapsulated herb can promote bone growth, bone density, and enhance overall well-being. Additionally, its coumarin Coumestrol has been shown to be osteoprotective (Sabudak & Guler, 2008).
External Use
Infused oil, salve, compress, poultice
Infused in a base oil, Red Clover can also be used topically. Because of its affinity for lymphatic tissue, the oil is wonderful for breast massage and lymphatic drainage massage. You can mix it with Violet, Dandelion Flower, &/or Calendula-infused oils. Use it for any of the breast or lymph conditions listed above, in addition to taking it internally.
Traditionally, a salve made of Red Clover was used topically on skin conditions, including eczema, dermatitis, and skin cancers. While the salve was made by boiling down Red Clover blossoms and water to a tar-like paste, Herbalists now most commonly use the oil or make the oil into a salve using beeswax.
Red Clover blossoms can also be applied topically as a compress (of the tea) or a poultice.
Red Clover should be harvested away from roadsides in areas that are untreated with pesticides. The majority of blossoms are available May-August. Harvest the blossoms with the upper 3 leaves to avoid touching them, as our skin’s natural oils will turn the blossoms brown. Dry in a place with low humidity and a lot of air circulation or use a dehydrator.
If you purchase Red Clover, make sure the blossoms are a dark purple color, not brown. I’ve seen a lot of Red Clover on the market that was improperly harvested and dried and is rendered useless.
Once you have foraged enough Red Clover Blossoms, visit my herbal oil post to learn how to make your own Red Clover-infused oil.
Free Red Clover Info Card Download
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