WHITE CLOVER |
TRIFOLIUM REPENS |
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| Fig 1 |
DESCRIPTION: Height up to 40cm. Like all clovers a delight little plant with its typical 3-lobed leaves that are individually heart-shaped and here have a white central triangular mark. The leaves have tiny teeth along the edges and remain green even in droughts. The flowers are white to pinkish and are pea-like and borne in clusters of 40-100 in a ball-shaped rosette. DISTRIBUTION: Common throughout. HABITAT: Wet or dry grasslands on all types of soil. FLOWERING TIME: June to September. EXTRA NOTES: Trifolium literally means 'three leaves' which relates to the characteristic form of the leaf (trifoliate). Repens means 'creeping' in Latin. If one harvests the leaves of this plant before flowering then the best flavour will be had and they can be eaten both raw and cooked. Flowers and seeds can be dried and used as a flour and the roots can be eaten if cooked first. A delicate sweet tasting tea can be made from the dried flowers which can be used in the treatment of coughs, colds and fevers. The flowering heads can be used to cleanse the blood, boils, open sores as well as deal with eye diseases. Icelanders boil white clovers as a vegetable. |