White clover flowers pictures.

 White clover (Trifolium repens) is naturally polymorphic for cyanogenesis (HCN production with tissue damage). Cyanogenesis protects plants from small herbivores, but frequencies of cyanogenic plants decrease in colder climates, possibly because cyanogenesis is detrimental to plants in areas of frequent frosts. The cyanogenesis polymorphism is controlled by two genes: Ac controls the presence/absence of cyanogenic glucosides, andLi controls the presence/absence of the enzyme required for their hydrolysis (linamarase). We are currently examining the molecular evolution of the cyanogenesis loci to understand the genetic basis and evolutionary dynamics of this adaptive variation.

 Clover is a very common weed of lawns. Clover has leaves with three leaflets, and creeping stems that set roots at whatever point they touch the ground. Flowers are white or pink (Trifolium repens, Trifolium fragiferam). Clover, with white flowers, is a member of the pea family, Fabaceae. This means clovers can fix nitrogen from the air and therefore they favour poorly fertilised lawns. One method of preventing clovers from taking hold is to make sure your lawn is growing strongly and is well fertilised during the warmer, growing months.

 White clover, including white Dutch and Ladino, is the most widely grown clover in the world. It is an excellent pasture legume and is usually grown in association with cool season grasses. White clover grows best in humid areas of the temperate zones during cool, moist seasons. White clover provides high quality grazing, is an excellent nitrogen-fixing perennial legume, and can play an important role in soil conservation, soil improvement, and crop rotations.

Clovers have leaves in sets of three, and compact flower heads that consist of many tiny, pea-like, bilaterally symmetrical (2-sided) flowers. Some species have flowers that make excellent tea, and a few have edible flowers. Avoid bitter flowers that are turning brown, and choose those with the brightest color, which are tastiest.

 White clover was formerly a common component of turf mixes due to its ability to fix nitrogen. It is still currently available in mixes or by itself and may be useful in low management turf areas. It has the ability to persist at short mowing heights and can attract bees to lawns.

Red clover flowers pictures.

Botanical Name of Red Clover: Trifolium pratense L.

Other Common Names:
Beebread, cow clover, meadow clover, purple clover, trefoil, wild clover.

Habitat:
Red clover is a perennial herb that grows commonly in the wild throughout Europe, Asia and Africa and has been naturalised to North America. It is used as a grazing food for cattle and as a green manure as is a nitrogen�rich crop.

Description:
Red clover is a member of the Leguminosae family. It can grow to approximately 1-2 feet and has purple-pink tubular flowers. Its name is derived from Latin: tres for three and folium for leaf and pratense for growing in meadows.

Plant Parts Used:

Flower heads. Red clover is generally taken as a standardised extract in tablet form. Red clover leaves are eaten as a salad and the flowers are dried for use in teas.

 Red Clover has been called one of  "God's greatest blessings to man" and is said to be a wonderful blood purifier and cleanser and has been used to treat serious invasive disease, debilitating wasting diseases, excess mucus in the lungs and elsewhere, irritable bowel , gout, kidney and liver ailments, and that is just the beginning!  This vitally nutritional, mineral-rich herb is a great tonic for overall good health that no one should be without.  Red Clover even rebuilds worn out soil; imagine what it can do for your body!

 History:
Red Clover is a hardy perennial of short duration that may be found in abundance throughout Europe, Asia, and the Mediterranean area, and it was introduced to Australia and North America (it is the state flower of Vermont). Red Clover is one of about 230 species of legumes that has been an important forage crop since the Middle Ages, and, in fact, Red Clover is the most important leguminous forage crop in northern Europe that not only benefits animals, but also rebuilds tired and worn out soil. It is also eaten in salads and included in honey as a flavoring. Red Clover is an erect-to-sprawling plant with long-stalked, hairy stems, arising from one root and bearing smooth leaves that are divided into three leaflets, hence, its botanical name, Trifolium, which is derived from two Latin words, tri, meaning "three" and folium, meaning "leaf." The stems bear purple-pink, tubular, fragrant flowers that are borne in globose heads that bloom in the late spring. Red Clover grows to a height of two feet and thrives in moist, well-drained, neutral soil in sun, and the flower heads with upper leaves are harvested in summer as they open and are dried as a sweet, cooling herb that is used in medicinal preparations.

 Red Clover has been used by herbalists for years to treat various cancers. Used externally in poultices, it has been employed as a local application for cancerous growths (also leprosy, old ulcers, acne and pellagra).  When taken internally, it is said to be helpful for serious diseases of the stomach, ovaries, breast, throat and lymphatic system. It has also been made into a gargle for the relief of esophageal disease, and the National Cancer Institute has substantiated the fact that Red Clover does, in fact, contain anti-cancer properties. It is a deeply rooted plant, which is said to account for its abundance of minerals, and some of the constituents in Red Clover include beta-sitosterol, caffeic and other acids, coumarin, eugenol, flavonoids, methyl salicylate, salicylic acid, calcium, chromium, lecithin, choline, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, molybdenum, beta-carotene and vitamins B-3, C and E.