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.
Want to learn how to make better use of your garden herbs? Take my Year of Seasonal Herbs E-Course for a fun and educational experience sure to grow your herbal confidence.
Angela Dye
Tuesday 22nd of February 2022
Lovely
Geneva
Wednesday 26th of January 2022
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
audrey
Sunday 18th of April 2021
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?
Kathie Lapcevic
Thursday 22nd of April 2021
Once something has been sprayed I tend to be a more unsure of them and unlikely to use them myself.
Carol Fryer
Friday 18th of December 2020
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.
Sophie Cassel
Wednesday 31st of July 2019
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.