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The white clover plant (Trifolium repens) is one of those ‘weeds’ that most of us see in our lawns, gardens, and parks. Its small white flowers stretch up from the ground just begging us to pay attention.
White clover benefits the body in a number of different ways, making it the perfect wild plant to harvest and use in our homes.
Is Clover Edible?
Yes, All of the aerial parts of the white clover plant are edible : leaves, stems, flowers, and seed pods.
The dried leaves and flowers are slightly sweet and can leave behind a faint vanilla-like flavor. Use them fresh or dried in baked goods.
Use the leaves raw in salads or dry for baked goods later. The flowers make a delicious tea and can be used dried or fresh.
Try baking it in some cookies for a delicious foraged summer treat.
How to Harvest White Clover
Before harvesting do make 100% sure of your identification! Don’t ingest until you are certain.
Pick the flowers in the spring and summer for a sweeter flavor. The fall blossoms are still edible and useful, just not usually as sweet.
Like most herbs, harvest white clover blossoms early in the day when the dew has dried.
Cut fully open blossoms that are brightly colored, avoid browned flowers.
Leave a small bit of stem for drying purposes.
Cut stems of the leaves close to the ground.
Drying White Clover
Wash the blossoms and leaves to get rid of any dirt and bugs.
Spread the blossoms out onto dehydration trays or wire racks. I usually just leave the trays sitting in the dehydrator without turning it on. Keep them out of direct sunlight while they dehydrate.
When the flowers are completely dry and crispy, cut the flowers from the stems, place them in an airtight container and label the jar.
To dehydrate the leaves, you could tie stems together and hang to dry until crispy. Or like the blossoms spread out onto trays to dry completely.
White Clover Benefits
It seems more is written about red clover than white clover. However, White clover does have its own medicinal uses and a place in many home herbal medicine chests.
It was traditionally used to purify and cleanse the blood. Take advantage of this by making refreshing cups of white clover tea or by making a tincture.
A tincture made of the leaves can be a treatment for gout.
It is a cooling plant making it ideal for treating fevers and colds. Again do this by drinking tea or making a tincture.
White clover is high in vitamins and minerals making it a nourishing health tonic as well.
As always, talk to your health care practitioner or pharmacist before taking herbs for medicinal purposes. Herbs can interact with certain health conditions and/or medications. Be safe first and foremost.
I would like to get hold of and grow some white clover at home. Do they come in seeds and if so, who provides them?
I could not find the seed sold in any of my favored sources. It could be that it is considered invasive in many places so seed isn’t sold. I’m not sure where to buy seed, I’m sorry that’s not very helpful.
Available at Amazon. I’m trying to replace my lawn with clover. It is less work, and feeds the bees.
Was wondering if you had success with this in your yard and if so, did you plantnon the north side of your house. I live in North Texas.
It just grows wild here in northwestern Montana. Most folks would consider it a weed. Growing it on the northside sounds like a good idea.
@Homespun Seasonal Living, great idea!
How long over the summer will clover last? The patches on my yard die off relatively quickly?
I think that’s going to completely depend on the growing season. Many years can last a long time here in northwest Montana but this year has been very hot and dry and they haven’t stuck around much.
They grow really well in the semishade dense shade here in Au. With a good amount of Moisture in the soil you will have a hard time getting rid of it.
Clover starts to die here in SE Texas when the weather starts to get hot. Right now,Early February,they are growing and will start to flower soon.
I LOVE that idea!
My lawn has been white and red clover for years. During 90 degree heat,it stays green when the grass burns up.
@Carla, it grows amazing down here in southeast Texas, so i have no idea how it’d fare in the northern climates. It’ll probably need regular watering, they like damp soil.
I believe the seed is sold at farm stores like TSC or farmers’ seed supply places. Farmers sow white clover in pastures for animal grazing.
You’ll need to find “ground cover clover”
Check places that sell seeds to plant for livestock feed
You can get white clover seeds at any Co-Op- it is sold for pasture use.
Wal-Mart, Target are two places to buy Clover seeds and go on line.
You can find white clover growing all over the place as weeds, at least in North America mid-Atl states. Find an unsprayed yard or field. One that hasn’t been cared for probably hasn’t been sprayed, but wash them very well before making tea, please
I found a packet of 30 seeds for 97 cents plus shipping at schoolspeciality.com yesterday
I buy mine on Amazon,5lbs
Check with any local sporting goods store near you who carry whitetail food plot products. Or you can order online from whitetail institute for best quality.
For New Zealand White Clover seeds, johnnyseeds.com carry them in packages ranging from 1 pound to 50 pounds. In the description, it sates this is more heat tolerant than other clovers.
Look for a natural grass seed. They often add clover seed to the mix.
@Karolyn Rae, what a great 😃👍 idea💡…did it work out well for you ?
@Sara, Tall purple clover for fodder
@Karolyn Rae, yes, it looks like the yard did the work for me this year. I have lived here for eight years and was cutting the grass once a week because that’s all it was was grass and then out of nowhere. My yard starts popping up with these little white flowers, and I had no idea what they were and I have this app called “Picture This” and all you do is take a picture from the app and it scans the plants or the tree or greenery whatever and then it spits out all of this information about that plant and I was like oh my gosh I have white clover and I also have red clover growing like crazy in my yard. I haven’t had to cut my grass once this season, which with the way the increase of gas is has been a nice break!
Like I said, I’ve lived here for eight years and this stuff just came out of nowhere. I also have a lot of other plants that are very medicinal and they have popped up out of nowhere as well. It’s almost like my yard is on self preservation mode or something ha ha ha it’s kind of cool- it’s like it’s looking out for me or something and so now instead of cutting the grass when I go out and do my earth grounding I sit there and listen and watch the bees pollinate, which is just so mesmerizing quite honestly! 🐝✨🩷
My only problem is I also have a groundhog that lives under my shed and when the sun goes down, he has been coming out and eating the clover. You can almost see like track marks of his body and where he eats and I’m like what are you doing dude!!!?!?! 😂🤣
http://pin.it/7l36mbh justsaw this link to buy seed on Pinterest
I noticed bags of clover seed at my local farm store.
I planted miniature white clover and love it! No mowing, needs no fertilizing, no weed control applications, beautiful green lawn with blooming flowers!
Did you have all your grass pulled up or did you just toss out clover on top and it took over?
just scatter it in your grass. What this article left out is that white clover is a healthy additive for any yard. It’s roots go deep and feed the grass with nutrients and for an add bonus it helps to hold moisture in. Where I live water is an issue.
I bought organic seeds from Amazon to use for ground cover and improving the soil. You can actually use it to improve lawns and replace grass altogether?
MIgardener sells it for crop cover.
They grow in your back yard like dandelions
HI
I CAN seed you seeds from my garden.
Try your local co-op or Feed and Seed stores. Try Tractor Supply.
Grass seed. Most mixes contain a large percentage clover seed
I live in an agricultural area where bulk seed is sold at “feed and seed” stores. Locally it runs about $4/lb. Suggested planting is 1/2 lb per 1000 square feet.
However, I’ve found Dutch White Clover seed on Amazon, too. It smells like fresh honey when in bloom. LOVE it!
Try Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
West Coast Seeds has several different forms of alternative lawns as well as white and Red Clover.
@Homespun Seasonal Living, I know so many of these posts are old, but Bakers Creek has a ton of these seeds.
@Duy Tran,My yard is covered in white clover so i’m sure i can get you some seeds. I also consider them quite lucky as i have found 437 4 & 5 leaf clovers so far this season. Email me.
@Duy Tran, idk where you Aretha, but they grow wild all over Illinois.
@Duy Tran,
I have those since last year and I just realize it is so good( not weed)
@Duy Tran, Have LOTS of it growing outside. But I do live in temperate Scotland.
@Duy Tran, check your feed stores. A lot of clover seed is sold for field cover for farmers.
@Homespun Seasonal Living, Seriously all you have to do is ask someone who has it in their yard, or go to a park and just grab some up by the root and replant it in your yard. It will spreads like wild fire the following year. But once in your yard, as you said, This stuff is invasive. Suffocating out just about everything. Even flowers. Experience with this in my own yard.
@Evelyn, makes a great reason to be a bee keeper with all that pollen for the bees. Just a thought…
@Duy Tran, my sis just bought a bag of clover seed at our local ranch supply store named Murdochs. If you are in US and particularly the NW part.
@i get little bags of half a pound at the local garden nursery at certain times a year.
@Homespun Seasonal Living,
Seeds n Such sells both red and white clover
@Duy Tran, try a farm supply store that may sell seed, hay. They may know where to refer you.
@Duy Tran, I get the seeds at my local CO-OP store. Where ever they sale vegetable seeds and farm animal feed.
@Duy Tran, You can buy white clover seed at Farm supply stores. It is a very common plant that farmers plant to benefit their hay crop.
I’m seeing plenty of white clover again here in Columbus Ohio more than usual,I find it odd cause of weed control Which I hate no bees on it like when I was child;)
Must be a good year for it. Though I agree spraying tends to knock it all out which is a shame.
I also have noticed a lack of bees…
I live in SE Tennessee, and there is also a noticeable lack of honey bees here and in N. Georgia, where I grew up.
When I was a kid, my paternal grandparents’ yard was exclusively white clover, and the honey bees were all over the place. My grandmother warned us to watch where we were walking and to avoid stepping on the bees; not because of getting stung, but because she didn’t want the bees harmed. In fact, she taught all of her grandchildren the importance of the bees in pollinating the flowers and food crops, as well as producing honey.
Being Tsalagi (Cherokee), we kids were taught about the “web of life”; that everything works together in an intricate web, and that what affects one plant, animal, or insect ultimately affects everything else above and below it in the web. So, we respected the bees, and found that if we didn’t bother the bees, they wouldn’t bother us. In fact, there were numerous times when honey bees would land on us, sometimes for several seconds, then fly away and go about their business; and the ONLY times anyone was stung were when someone hurt or swatted the bee. Virtually every case of bee sting was due to the sting victim’s inattention or negligence. In other words, the honey bees only stung out of self defense and in protection of their hive. Also, once a honey bee stings, it dies; so they are conservative in their use of their stings.
Over the years, we have seen fewer and fewer honey bees in this area; but there has been an increase in wasps, carpenter bees, yellow jackets, and bumble bees (another very rare species in this area these days) that have taken on the task of pollination in the absence of honey bees. The yard where I live is mostly comprised of wild grasses, and most of them have medicinal and culinary uses. Between 1/3 and 1/2 of the front yard is comprised of white clover, with some wildflowers of various kinds. Clover just makes the lawn prettier, in my opinion. For those who are lawn obsessive, the yard is mowed occasionally, but only to satisfy the local “neighborhood association”, which doesn’t like to see lawns with narrow-leaf plantain spikes, chives, wild onion, or dandelion stalks with flowers or seed heads. Frankly, I think the dandelion, clover, wildflowers, and violets are beautiful.
There are several lawns here in this neighborhood that are exclusively white clover, and they are beautiful; or maybe they are beautiful to me because they are reminiscent of my childhood and times spent with my grandmother and grandfather who valued all life and avoided anything that would break or endanger a single thread in the web of life.
Did I mention that my grandfather was a farmer? He always had good harvests and good crop yields–enough for our family and less fortunate neighbors, as well–and he didn’t use a single pesticide or herbicide. He did, however, practice what is now called “companion planting”, where he planted certain flowers among the crops to repel certain insects. He also was not a lazy farmer. He and my grandmother actually weeded their two-acre garden with a hoe–“old school”. Maybe my grandparents’ white clover lawn was a gesture of thanks toward the bees who pollinated their crops; or dessert, perhaps. Whatever it took to maintain the web of life….
Al Swilling, Thank you for your reply and interesting history of your delightful childhood with your grandparents. I too have always been interested in the chain of life, although I’m not of Native American origin. I love that your grandparents have passed on their knowledge to you and you’re continuing to pass on to others.
I do have a flower bed dedicated to wildflowers that attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds. I don’t think I’ve seen any honey bees, yet. Still hopeful!
Thanks also for the white clover information, we have a pasture full!! Now, hopefully, I can convince my partner it’s not a bad thing!!
I would love to learn more about the wisdom of your grandparents.. web of Life..
I am part cherokee..
I’m on facebook ..
Kareena Henson
Tennessee.
Thank you!
@Al Swilling,
Thank you for your input here. I was enjoying reading it and have colourfully imagined your grandparents and you in this herbal Garden full of bees and other beautiful creatures of nature.
All respect to you and your ancestors, always in tune with the Nature ♡
Big thanks to Kathie Lapcevic for this article!
What about using white clover in place of red in jelly? I know the color would not be as rosy but the flavor?
The flavor is going to be different but good. I’ve thinking about it myself actually and might give it a try.
I have tons of it here in IA. when I mow I leave huge patches for the bumble bees :-)
never knew I could benefit too.
thanks for the info..
I raised my mower deck so that I leave the whole plant. The bees are happy, I love my pretty lawn and the soil loves the hydrating effect of thick, sheltering plant life. Win, win, win!
Cool! I had no idea you could use white clover for anything useful! I don’t know why, since pretty much every other “weed” under the sun has beneficial properties, but this is the first I have heard about this. Thanks for sharing!
I just need to find an area my chickens have not visited on their free range wanderings, and fertilized recently. Thanks for he helpful information. I have used many herbs for decades, but often we miss the easy and abundant ones literally at our own feet.
I’m so excited to see this info. I was just defending them to my husband who wanted to mow them all down. I’m headed out to pick some.
Thank you! I’ve never been able to find any information about whether white clover is useful; everything seems to be written about the red. But white is much more plentiful in my yard. I’m looking forward to trying some of these options.
Oh, I’m so glad this was useful and I hope you have fun getting to know this plant!
I used to crave this as a kid. I would suck on the flowers until no flavor left then spit them out. Guess my body needed something in them. Now I wonder if I will like as much now as I did then.
You’ll have to try and let me know. What a sweet memory, thank you for sharing!
I did too! I hunted them down and couldn’t get enough! My grandmother always yelled at me for eating clovers and the heart shaped leaves with tiny lil yellow flowers? Forget what their called but I would eat them too. I just somehow knew what I could eat?? Probably a skill we all have but lose as we get older
The plant with tiny yellow flowers and heart shaped leaves is known as wood sorrel aka Oxalis & is valuable itself!
Thank you for the information. I have red and white clover on my property. I was going to make some syrup, cough syrup, and jelly with the red and was curious about the white. Now I can try with both and have a variety. Thank you again very much.
Oh I’m so glad to know, you found this information useful! Enjoy those clovers.
You can use the roots as well; I read about it. They’re both edible and medicinal.
You’ll need to cite some sources, please.
Hi! thank you for your post! i have a connection to this plant and only recently moved to a location it may flower in the summer. do you know of any way to purchase it dried?
I don’t know any place find it dried, I’m sorry. I searched my usual places and they don’t sell it.
thank you so much for responding! i appreciate it. i will go foraging in the upcoming warmer months.
Maybe check with a co-op like azure?
Westcoastseeds sell white clover seed.
Should we wash it before drying? If so, what method do you recommend? Thanks.
Yes always wash to remove dirt, bugs, deer urine, etc. etc. https://homespunseasonalliving.com/clean-foraged-plants/
Just a note that the “vanilla” flavor is due to the coumarin content of this lovely plant, which alludes to its potential use as a circulatory stimulant and mild blood thinner. Shouldn’t be a problem for anyone just drinking occasional tea or adding to salad, but in large doses could pose a problem for folks who are already on pharmaceutical blood thinners. Just want to make sure folks are safe and remember that plant medicine can interact with pharma meds not because they are “dangerous” but because the plants know how to heal.
I discovered the wonders of white clover accidentally. I had had my yard sprayed and just didnt like it. I stopped and a couple years went by. Suddenly one morning I woke up and my lawn was filled with white clover. More then I had ever seen. I began to pick the blossoms at first, knowing I looked crazy to my neighbors..lol. Then I looked up white clover online and discovered the leaves were good…so I begain picking and drying as much as I could. You could use them in soups and anything you want,muffins and what ever. I found out Bakers Creek had red clover seeds and ordered some. I also ordered lambs quarter, that my mother once told me was very nutritious. I tried it and it was just like spinach. I need to get some purslane that my mom also said was good. I had started using it in soups and was very surprised. Theres a whole wonderful natural world of food that we have been taught to spray with chemicals and poisons. Enough of that. Im on a roll.
@Carol Fryer, I don’t spray or use a lawn service like most of my neighbors. However, I have an invasion of Creeping Charlie. I don’t know what I could use it for and it crowds out the grass. Any ideas on its benefits/uses?
Thank you, I have thousands of these in my yard now. my husband just used weed and feed in the yard. Do you suppose it would hurt me to cut a lot of these?
Once something has been sprayed I tend to be a more unsure of them and unlikely to use them myself.
Last spring 2020 (I am deaf) I live in southeast of Texas I was reading online information, I was so shocked I don’t know about white clovers have a many’s benefits because my yard are so plenty white clover beautiful, thank god I almost plan all removed white clovers, but I change my mind I kept it forever 🤟 thank you
Lovely
My Guardian Angels 😇❤️ led me to pick up white clover by the bunches… It did the trick and purified my blood as evidenced in my urine output. Thank You ☺️😌😅😌😅 . I was not 😹 feeling well at all. Great 😃👍 article
Only drawback to clover in the yard is for young children. The bees will sting.
Make sure to identify them correctly and DON’T use any from areas that may have been sprayed with pesticides, etc!
Duy Tran
I live in Alabama and white clover grow everywhere here. You could try looking under White Dutch clover seed if you haven’t found any seeds yet. Good luck.
After living in my home of 8 years (NEVER seeing it anywhere) it SUDDENLY started growing ALL over my yard and people would tell me that (like we have been taught about the Dandelion) “it’s just a weed” However I’ve been researching ALL of the greenery in my yard (lots of new things popping up- never seen before) and I also have Mullien, which has great medicinal properties to it!
Excellent! Very useful