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Page 2
In days past, sweet clover scented tobaccos and bedsheets. Since its mashed-up leaves also soothed inflammations, melilotus became known as plaster clover too. Its young greens were served in salads or steamed and its seeds, about the size of small peas, flavored soups. The dried leaves can also add a vanilla flavor to desserts. It is important that melilotus be completely dry, however. If fermented, coumarin turns into an anticoagulant (blood-thinner) and has caused hemorrhaging in cows fed improperly cured hay.
Red clover, trifolium pratense, is probably the most popular variety for medicinal use. Early patent medicines were often known as trifolium compounds, since they contained so much of the plant. It was part of Harry Hoxey's alternative cancer treatment that also included barberry, buckthorn, burdock, cascara sagrada, licorice, poke, prickly ash, and bloodroot. Although skeptics scoffed, all but one of Hoxey's herbs have been shown to contain anti-tumor compounds. Red clover has four, including daidzen and genistein. It is also relatively high in tocopherol (Vitamin E). Clover is not recommended for cancers that are made worse by estrogen, however. Because the plant, like soybean, belongs to the legume family, clover has effects on the body similar to estrogen. That makes it a possible treatment for menopausal symptoms, but women with a family history of female cancers or persons with heart problems should probably avoid it. An expectorant, clover also treats asthma, coughs, and bronchitis. It soothes skin diseases like eczema and psoriasis and fights several bacterias, including the one that causes TB. Since I am a farmer's daughter, my recollections of clover are pleasant ones. Not only does the plant feed our livestock, it naturally fertilizes the ground in which it grows by fixing nitrogen in the soil. I can understand why clover stands for "domestic virtue" and "fertility" in the Language of Flowers. And I can identify with Wilder who "thought the scent the best of all perfumes, and would carry a thick wad of the soft blossoms done up in a none too clean handkerchief. . ." When you find yourself dreaming of those leaves of three--or four--consider it a good sign. Such visions are supposed to promise success in all aspects of your life. If, like me, you find these superstitions more amusing than convincing, you can still follow clover's example. Like St. Patrick or his symbol, make the spot where you're planted sweeter and richer by your presence, and the world will remember you with pleasure as well!
The copyright of the article Shamrocks: Luck O' the Clovers - Page 2 in Historical Plants is owned by . Permission to republish Shamrocks: Luck O' the Clovers - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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