Sweet Clover: use, properties, and tradition

Sweet Clover, scientifically known as Melilotus officinalis or Trigonella officinalis, is a leguminous plant quite common in Italy, found in uncultivated areas and fields, ranging from sea level to 1400 meters altitude.

It appears as a biennial herb with multiple stems, reaching up to 1 meter in height, and more or less branched. The compound leaves are trifoliate; the two lateral ones are inserted a few millimeters lower than the median one and are obovate in shape. The lower leaves (12×8 mm) are narrower than the upper ones, with a very noticeable serrated margin. The stipules are small and triangular. At the height of the upper leaves, precisely in the axil, there are racemes up to 12-15 cm long, bearing many almost sessile flowers, about half a centimeter long, yellow in color, with a banner slightly longer than the other petals.

The fruit is a glabrous legume, 2 mm long, reticulated, containing a single seed.

The used part of the plant is represented by the flowering tops, which have a typical “hay” odor, resulting from the content of coumarins (melilotin). The flowering tops also contain flavonoids, saponins, and tannins.

Sweet Clover possesses anti-edematous, anti-inflammatory, venotonic, and cicatrizing effects; it is able to increase lymphatic flow and is also spasmolytic and digestive. It is therefore recommended for disorders associated with venous insufficiency, such as a sense of heaviness in the legs, edema, nocturnal cramps, leg pains, lymphatic congestion, and hemorrhoidal disease.

Precautions: Considering the blood-thinning action of coumarins, it is advisable to avoid concurrent use with anticoagulants and salicylates and to discontinue use before surgery or childbirth.

This medicinal plant can be used in various forms: tea, tablets, capsules, parenteral or rectal administration (suppositories), but also externally in ointments and poultices. Traditional folk uses somewhat mirror modern use, although in the past, the infusion produced from 2 teaspoons of flowering tops in a cup was used as a urinary antiseptic and diuretic. The same preparation could also be used for washes and poultices in cases of conjunctivitis and sores.

Interesting fact: Sweet Clover is also called “horse clover” or “carriage herb” because horses are fond of it. In fact, if they spot Sweet Clover on the roadside, they are likely to interrupt their journey for a delicious taste.

It was once used to scent closets and keep moths away. It is still used today as an aromatic additive in certain tobacco blends.

ANJA LATINI

Registered Herbalist at RNEP no. GLT0018S