This past week I drove beside a field where the Crimson Clover blossoms were in full bloom. It was beautiful.
It was a large hay field planted with a variety of grasses which will be mowed, dried, and harvested for winter animal feed. On the other hand, the land could be in crop rotation and soon everything will be plowed under as a green manure to increase the nutrition in the soil. Either way, you can tell it is not used as a pasture for animals because there is no fence around it.
No fence makes it easy for people like me to slip in and grab a bouquet. I don't think they will miss what I took. This is foraging, not stealing.
Back in January, I shared my new year's resolution which was to find new teas by growing them in my garden or learning to forage. Now that it is finally spring, my search has begun.
Crimson Clovers are rich in many nutrients such as calcium, chromium, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, thiamine, and vitamin C. Plus, it is abundant in isoflavones, which is a plant-based chemical that acts like estrogen.
A few of the health benefits of drinking red clover tea:
- Lowers inflammation, which has been linked to diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's and more
- Cleanses the blood by removing toxins from your system
- Improves water retention which helps creates younger skin
- Protects against cardiovascular diseases
- Improves blood flow
There are many more uses; I have only given a short list.
Hi Jeannie,
ReplyDeleteThis Yankee has never seen that kind of clover. It's stunning! A whole field of it....eye candy.
Sally, ya'll come on down to Tennessee and I show you some sights!
DeleteThis is lovely clover and you could tie a bunch together and dry it! It would be lovely in a dried floral arrangement. Thanks for sharing and linking too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a good idea. I did not not think about doing that and now it is too late. I put the clovers in a glass vase and put them in the kitchen window so I could enjoy them while washing dishes. The latest storm blew the vase into the sink and crushed the blooms. I drying them would have been wise.
DeleteJeannie, I have never seen this kind of clover! Gorgeous! Like you, I would not have made an infusion of it not knowing whether it had been sprayed. It made a beautiful arrangement.
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI've never had red clover tea, looks yummy.
ReplyDeleteSo far I have liked almost every tea I have tried. Of course, if you add enough cream and sweetener, anything is good.
DeleteAh...now I see the difference in foraging and the other. LOL
ReplyDeleteI call it foraging, others call it stealing.
DeleteRed clover and crimson clover are not one and the same. The nutrition you listed, is it for "red" or "crimson" clover? I have a huge meadow full of crimson clover and it is a real beauty. And the bees and butterflies love it too! It makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteMari, "red" and "crimson" clover are not one and the same. You are correct. The information listed is for "red" clover. When researching for this post, I could find no differences between the two listed in any medical studies. I did find a difference in benefits between "white" and "red" clovers. If there are any new studies published I would love to hear what you know. I am not a doctor but someone who loves sharing what I have learned.
DeleteI have been experimenting with crimson clover and made an oil infused balm that is really nice. But I have been trying to dig deeper and find info on crimson instead of red and well it led me here to your blog and not a whole lot else.
DeleteEve, an oil infused balm is a great idea! I searched extensively also but couldn't find much more than what I posted. If you learn more, please return and share with me.
DeleteGreat article. I just found a recent new flower that has decided to move in with me into my reforestation priject in my backyard. Red Clover. Your article is inspiring. I read it out loud to my girlfriend. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteMy experience with the Crimson Clover was very different and interesting. I was on the way to pick up my niece from her school for a dental appointment and on the way back the sight caught my eye. A beautiful heaping field of Crimson Clover. I decided to stop by the road and just pick a few but they were so beautiful I just took a whole bundle of them from the roadside field. The first thing I noticed was that they smelled very sweet and almost citrus-like. They smelled very high; I don't know if it was because my car was hot, but I had to roll the window down because it almost took my breath away literally. I questioned myself if they might be poison, but I didn't throw them away. I needed to make a drop but the dollar store to get gardening supplies, so I did but I noticed something when I returned to my car which previously smelled like a skunk sneaked into my car overnight and had a party, smelled fresh, and that skunk smell was completely dissipated. My original plan for these flowers was to plant them in a hanging basket but when I put them in the baskets most of them dried out. Just today I was replanting and repotting some of my flowers and now seeing that they were completely dried out I removed them from the hanging baskets in which I had planted other flowers. Just having planted those flowers, I expected no growth for a couple of weeks but when I reached in to look in the baskets, flower buds were already starting to come in. So, I've experienced those two benefits already. Now just out of curiosity I decided to take them in the house and cut them up to use as plant food but when I went to cut them I noticed they were very tough and I could barely cut them so I decided to try and blend them but I had to bend them into bundles and my blender was not big enough so I decided to boil them and used the water as a fertilizer and the cooked green as plant food. As I begin to boil the Crimson Clover; grass, flowers, and roots all together I noticed that the boiling water begin to look like tea. It to a deep brownish-red coloring. I had quite a bit of the clover, so I boiled three pots of it. I noticed that there was a high smelling point when I boiled the flowers and when I went to put my face in to inhale the vapors it made me feel well. I noticed that even though steaming hot and smoking to the touch it cooled very quickly. The liquid is also very smooth and moisturizing not hard like some waters or liquids so I reckon that it's good for inside use and might be good for the body...
ReplyDeleteI have poured three containers and have yet to taste them. I don't know what will happen, but the liquid is cooling now and the greens I have stored in the freezer for later use. I will later date the experience Lords willing...
I don't know this plant's medicinal use value or quality but there are defiantly benefits to this plant (Crimson Clover]. So, there does seem to be some truth to this blogger's information. The flower is definitely useful externally in many ways internally I have yet to discover.
I have since picked more and tried it in a tea. The flavor was less that enjoyable. I haven't tried it again since there are so many other teas which taste better. It grows all around me and I should use it more often. Thank you for sharing your experiments.
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