Many of us have known grass clover since childhood. After all, it grows everywhere - in forests, in fields, in villages and cities. This herb belongs to the legume family. It usually grows up to half a meter in height. Mostly its leaves are trifoliate (but there are more), and the flowers are collected in small tight heads. There is a statistic that a multi-leaf plant occurs on average one in 10,000 clover stems. And this happens, as scientists say, due to a genetic mutation.
Clover, thanks to special living bacteria in its roots, enriches the soil with nitrogen. It also improves soil drainage and water holding capacity. All this is because the roots of clover penetrate deep into the soil, and at the same time additionally loosen it. The benefit of clover is also that it is one of the most important crops for feeding livestock.
There are about 250 types of clover. One of the most common is white clover (creeping). In the people it is also called "white porridge". This plant is found in the Caucasus, in the CIS and throughout Europe. White clover stems creep along the ground, hence its second name - creeping clover. It is extremely tenacious - withstands grazing and trampling, grows extremely fast.
Another variety is red clover, or, as it is also called, meadow clover. Characteristic features: long leaves, branched root and dark red flowers. The fruits are small seeds that look like beans. The tap root system grows very quickly. Above-ground shoots are slightly curved or erect, reaching up to 40 cm in height. Leaflets trifoliate ovate, pubescent below.
Clover contains fat and essential oils. Due to this, it is often used in folk medicine for the treatment of suffocation, hernia, female diseases. Also used for scrofula, kidney disease, malaria and colds. The plant also has a diuretic, hemostatic, astringent, expectorant and antiseptic effect. Medicinal raw materials - inflorescences with upper leaves. Collect them during flowering, laying in baskets in a loose way. Then dried in the shade, in a dryer or under a canopy. You can store for a whole year in a closed container.
Most of the varieties of this plant are excellent honey herbs. Including creeping clover. Honey from it (as well as from red clover) is considered healing and very valuable. There are even special bees that collect nectar exclusively from these legumes.
The people have their own sayings and signsabout this plant. It is believed that if a person finds a four-leaf clover (it doesn’t matter if it is creeping or red), then he will be happy, and good luck will always accompany his life path. And if someone met a five-leaf clover on his way (which happens very rarely), and even plucked it, then grief and trouble await him. Such statements have come to us since ancient times. Then the creeping four-leaf clover (or red) was specially sought by young unmarried girls in order to attract a good groom. Also, this grass with four leaves was hidden under the porch to avoid unwanted guests.
