Red Clover, Trifolium pratense
Description
Red Clover is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the bean family and is native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwest Africa. Red clover's flowers and leaves are edible, and can be added as garnishes to any dish. They can be ground into a flour, used to make jelly and teas and their essential oil can be extracted for use in aromatherapy. This batch was used to make Red Clover Syrup, using the flower heads, Demerara sugar and lemon juice.
Red Clover Checklist
Habitat
🐑 Grassland, including paddocks, fields and meadows.
🏡 Urban Green Spaces, including scrubland, parks and gardens.
Season
🌸🌞🍂❄️ Jan - Dec
Leaves
☘️ Clover leaves are green, oval, and trifoliate, which means there are three leaves opposing each other on a stem. There can occasionally be four or more leaves, but this is very rare.
Flowers
🌷 Clover flowerheads are ball-shaped, and consist of numerous small, tubular red-purple flowers. Other colours you may encounter include pink, white or yellow. All are edible.
Stem
🌱 Thin, pale green and slightly hairy.
Fruit / Seeds
🍏 After flowering, small, edible pea-like seeds develop at the base of the flower.
Edible Parts
🌷 Flowers
🍏 Seeds
Aroma / Taste
👃 The flowers have a floral aroma.
👅 The leaves taste of grass and are best left off the menu! The flowers taste sweet and floral when raw, depending when they are picked. The seeds taste like peas.
ID Notes
🟩 ID Difficulty - Beginner
👀 The distinctive flowerheads and trifolate leaves are the key identifiers of this plant.
Uses
🌺 Garnish - The flowers can be used as a garnish.
☕️ Beverage - The flowers can be used to make teas or other drinks.
🍨 Sweet - Flowers can be used to make jellies and other desserts.
🍓 Yummy - The flowers and seeds are a sweet, tasty forage snack straight from the stalk.