Where does sweet clover grow. Sweet clover useful properties

Melilot officinalis (guryan, burkun)

Melilotus officinalis

From the steppe of the Don
On a horseshoe
There was fragrant grass -
Golden head.

is a biennial herbaceous plant of the legume family (Fabaceae). It grows in fields, meadows, along roads, along the slopes of ravines. For therapeutic purposes, grass is used - the tops of the shoots with leaves and flowers. Collect grass during flowering.

If you want to have a wonderful smell of a flowering meadow or fresh hay at home, take a few sprigs of sweet clover in your bouquet. It meets us along roads, ditches, on fallow fields, in ravines, where it blooms all summer from June to October with graceful thin tassels of yellow and whitish flowers. In addition to the tundra and alpine meadows, it is found everywhere. Its trifoliate leaves rise and fold by night. They look like flowers of peas and beans, only small.

Sweet clover smells very nice, especially when it dries. Its flowers are mixed with the highest grades of pipe tobacco. Anglers use sweet clover as a fragrant bait for fish. Sweet clover flowers are put into fermented milk when making cheeses.

Raw material contains coumarin, dicoumarin, cymarin, melyl and coumaric acids, essential oil, etc. Infusion and decoction of sweet clover has an expectorant, emollient, carminative, analgesic effect.

Due to the presence of coumarin sweet clover depresses the central nervous system and has an anticonvulsant effect.

In scientific medicine, sweet clover grass used for the preparation of an exhaust green plaster and introduced into the composition of emollient fees, accelerating the opening of abscesses and boils. Dicoumarin isolated from sweet clover is used as an anticoagulant for thrombophlebitis.

In folk medicine, herbal infusion used for chronic bronchitis, insomnia, migraine, ailments caused by high blood pressure and menopause, with liver diseases.

A mixture of sweet clover grass with coltsfoot flowers in the form of a decoction helps with ovarian inflammation, cancer, psychosis, and metabolic disorders.

Outwardly, an infusion of herbs, as well as an ointment, is used for abscesses, abscesses, inflammation of the mammary glands, rheumatic tumors of the joints.

To prepare the infusion, take 2 teaspoons of herbs, pour two cups of boiling water, insist in a sealed container, take 1/2 cup 2-3 times a day.

To prepare the ointment, take 2 tablespoons of fresh sweet clover flowers, rub with 2-3 tablespoons of fresh butter (Surina, 1974).

In Karelia, sweet clover is used for atherosclerosis, leucorrhea, fever, myositis, intestinal colic, dysmenorrhea, gout, as a diuretic (for ascites) and lactogenic agent (Yudina, 1988). It has been scientifically established that sweet clover preparations are active against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli. Alcohol extracts in the experiment exhibit antifibrinolytic activity.

In experiments on animals, it was found that the introduction of an aqueous extract of sweet clover grass into the body accelerates liver regeneration. Identified and stimulating properties. With inflammation of the eyes, lotions are made with an admixture of honey, with a headache, compresses are made.

Fresh plant and dry powder treat festering wounds, swelling of the joints, itching in the perineum - sitz baths.

In Belarus, sweet clover is used for painful menstruation, for diseased ovaries, and as a means of preventing blood clotting (Ges, 1976).

Experimental and clinical studies have established that sweet clover has a narcotic effect. In patients with leukopenia due to radiation therapy, coumarin causes an increase in leukocytes, mainly due to granulocytes. In large doses, sweet clover causes nausea, vomiting, headache, and has a paralyzing effect on smooth muscles.

In Bulgaria sweet clover is used orally for chronic catarrh of the bronchi, for pain in the bladder, kidneys, and hypertension. Infusion of sweet clover is instilled into the ear with inflammation of the middle ear and with flow from the ears.

In ancient herbalists, instructions are given for the use of sweet clover for abdominal pain, to increase milk in nursing mothers ("Plant Resources", 1987).

Even 1000 years ago, Avicenna widely used sweet clover in the form of ointments for tumors of the eyes, testicles, and uterus. He believed that a decoction of the stems and leaves of sweet clover with wine drives menstruation and the fetus.

Sweet clover tea is useful with thrombophlebitis and as a lactic acid for nursing mothers, with colds and salt deposits. Since ancient times, sweet clover has been used for bottom disease, as gout was called.

In scientific medicine use grass to make exhaust green plaster, accelerating the opening of boils.

Powder from leaves and inflorescences can be used for flavoring compotes, dressing soups, salads and second courses.

For salad take one medium cucumber, cut, add green onions and 50 g of sweet clover leaves. On top, you can put slices of boiled eggs, season with sour cream or mayonnaise.

Okroshka: boiled meat, potatoes, cucumber and egg finely chopped. Grind the crushed fresh leaves of sweet clover and onion with salt and mustard. Mix everything together, pour kvass. Top with sour cream before serving.

For tea take half a glass of dry leaves and inflorescences of sweet clover and the same amount of crushed dry inflorescences with fireweed leaves, pour a liter of cold water, bring to a boil. Pour into cups, adding sugar to taste. You can add 1 tablespoon of green tea to this tea.

Powder: grind the dried leaves and inflorescences of sweet clover in a coffee mill, sift. Use for flavoring compotes, dressing soups, salads and second meat dishes. Recommended for thrombophlebitis.

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Rice. 7.13. Sweet clover - Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.

Sweet clover grass- herba meliloti
(d. pharmacy) - Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.
tall clover(d. high) - Melilotus altissimus Thuill.
Sem. legumes— Fabaceae

- biennial herbaceous plant with a tap root and an erect, strongly branched stem 0.5-1.3 (2) m high.
Leaves alternate, trifoliate with lanceolate stipules, leaflets oblong-obovate or oblong, finely serrate-toothed in the upper part along the margin.
flowers small, yellow, drooping, with a moth-like corolla, collected in dense axillary racemes 4-10 cm long.
Fetus- small ovoid 1-2-seeded bean, naked, with a few transverse wrinkles (Fig. 7.13).
The whole plant is very fragrant. due to the coumarin it contains. The coumarin smell intensifies when the aerial parts dry out. At the time of flowering, sweet clover thickets are fragrant with honey, because the flowers are rich in nectar.
blooms in June - September, the fruits ripen from June to late autumn.

tall clover- biennial plant with a thick taproot. It differs from D. officinalis in short (2-5 cm long) dense racemes of flowers and awl-linear stipules.

Spreading

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Spreading. distributed throughout the European part of the country, except for the northern and northeastern regions, in the Caucasus, Western Siberia and Central Asia. tall clover has a European type of range. It is found mainly in Ukraine and Moldova.

Habitat. D. officinalis grows in the steppe and forest-steppe zones in dry meadows, as a weed in crops, as well as along forest edges, in forest belts, along roads, often forms thickets on railway embankments, sandy banks of reservoirs, wastelands and fallow lands. Sometimes it is sown in the fields as a melliferous and fodder plant. D. tall grows in wet meadows and pastures, in areas with disturbed sod cover. Due to the fact that it is rare, it is practically not harvested.

Together with medicinal and tall sweet clover, other species grow that are not allowed for harvesting and are not used in medicine. White sweet clover(Melilotus albus Medik.) is distinguished by white flowers, leaflets serrated from the base and entire subulate stipules.

Toothed clover (M. dentatus Pers.) has pale yellow flowers, leaflets serrated from the base and large, narrowly lanceolate, at the base expanded and incised-toothed stipules.

sweet clover (M. suaveolens Ledeb.) differs in light yellow flowers, smaller, indistinctly reticulate-wrinkled beans, strong aroma. It replaces sweet clover east of the Yenisei.

Medicinal raw materials

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External signs

Whole Raw Material. Whole leafy flowering apical and lateral shoots with a stem up to 3 mm in diameter and up to 30 cm long. Stipules lanceolate or subulate, almost always entire, rarely at the lowest leaves with 1-2 cloves. The lower leaves are obovate, the upper ones are oblong or lanceolate, along the edge on both sides with 10-13 unequal teeth. flowers moth, small, 5 to 7 mm long. Cup bell-shaped, five-toothed, remaining with the fetus, naked. Sometimes small immature fruits are found in small quantities - beans from 3 to 5 mm long, indistinctly reticulated or transversely wrinkled, naked or covered with sparse hairs. Seed one, rarely two. stem color, calyxes and fruits are green, corollas are yellow. The smell is fragrant (coumarin), the taste is bitter.

Crushed raw materials. A mixture of particles of stems, leaves, flowers and a small amount of fruits up to 8 mm in size.

Numerical indicators of raw materials

Whole raw material. The content of coumarins is not less than 0.4% (spectrophotometric method); moisture not more than 14%; total ash no more than 10%; the content of stems with a diameter of more than 3 mm is not more than 2%; particles passing through a sieve with holes of 0.5 mm, not more than 5%; parts of the plant that have changed color, not more than 2%; organic impurities not more than 1%; mineral - no more than 0.5%.

Crushed raw materials. Particles larger than 8 mm no more than 10%; particles of stems with a diameter of more than 1 mm are not allowed.

Microscopy of sweet clover leaves

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To authenticate raw materials study the anatomical structure of sweet clover leaves.

are of diagnostic value

slightly sinuous cells of the upper and strongly sinuous - of the lower epidermis;
stomata surrounded by 3-5 cells (anomocytic type) are located on the upper and lower sides of the leaf;
two types of hairs:
- simple unicellular, coarsely warty, thin-walled with a pointed apex and
- glandular with a multicellular head on a short unicellular stalk;
crystalline lining surrounding the main and large lateral veins;
druses of calcium oxalate are rare.

Procurement and storage of raw materials

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blank. As a medicinal raw material, flowering tops of plants (up to 30 cm long) are used, in which the bulk are leaves and flowers. Usually, when harvesting, whole plants are cut or mowed, and after drying, the raw material is threshed.

Drying. In attics, sheds, under sheds with good ventilation, as well as in dryers at a temperature not exceeding 40 ºС.

Standardization. GOST 14101-69.

Storage. The grass has a strong smell, so the raw materials must be stored in a well-closed container. Shelf life 2 years.

For many centuries, experience has been accumulated in the treatment of various diseases with medicinal herbs. In medicine, medicinal sweet clover (yellow burkun), lat. Melilotus officinalis. This can be found in temperate latitudes, in different areas: in a field, in a meadow, along the road. The beneficial properties of sweet clover are numerous due to its chemical composition.

Chemical composition

The chemical composition of sweet clover is very rich and contains:

coumarins and their derivatives;
protein (17.6%);
Sahara;
vitamin C (up to 389 mg), vitamin E (more than 45 mg), carotene (up to 84 mg);
lactone;
glycoside;
flavonoids (robinin, flovin, kaempferol);
melilotin;
essential oil (0.01%);
polysaccharides (mucus);
saponins;
allantoin;
hydroxycinnamic, coumaric, melilotic acids;
phenolic triterpene compounds;
carbohydrate compounds;
nitrogenous bases;
amino acids;
tannins;
fat-like substances (up to 4.3%);
macro- and microelements (accumulates molybdenum, selenium);
fatty acids (found in seeds).

Beneficial features

Grass sweet clover has numerous, but do not forget about contraindications. It lowers blood pressure, has an antispasmodic effect in patients with angina pectoris, atherosclerosis.

It has a calming effect on cardiospasm, anxiety, excitability, insomnia, headache, menopause. It is used as a mucolytic agent for coughs, bronchitis, introduced into the ingredients of laxative tea.
It is used externally for wound healing, treatment of boils, joint tumors, inflammation of the upper respiratory tract. The beneficial properties of sweet clover "work" in, if there are no medical contraindications. The main ones are allergy to, as well as individual intolerance to its components.

Medicinal properties of sweet clover honey:

improves immunity;
restores the body in the postoperative period;
useful for shortness of breath, dizziness, headaches;
promotes lactation in lactating women, etc.

Did you know? In total, there are 22 species of sweet clover in nature. Not all of them have useful properties.

Collection and storage of medicinal raw materials

Harvest the side shoots and flowering tops of the plants during the summer months. Thick stems are of no value, it is better to throw them away.
Grass is recommended to be collected in meadows, in the field, on forest edges, away from roads, settlements, enterprises, treatment facilities, etc.

Dry the collected material in a shaded place, spreading it out in a layer of 3-5 cm at a temperature not exceeding 32 ° C. After drying, dried flowers and leaves (without stems) are crushed.

Important! You can not dry healing herbs in the open sun.If stored incorrectly, mold appears on the grass, and instead of a plant with healing properties, sweet clover becomes poison.

Store in closed containers in a dry place for up to 2 years.

Traditional medicine recipes

For treatment, tinctures, ointments, tea are made from harvested or pharmacy burkun, sweet clover honey, steamed grass are used.

Infusion for internal use: 2 tsp dry sweet clover pour 1.5 tbsp. distilled water, insist 4 hours and consume 0.5 cups 40 minutes before meals. It has a sedative, analgesic, antitussive effect.
For rubbing, compresses: 2 tbsp. l. herbs pour 2 cups of boiled water. Insist 20 minutes.
For baths: 2 tbsp. l. dry raw materials pour 1 cup boiling water. Infuse for 10 minutes (sciatica, rheumatism, sprains).
Ointment preparation: 2 tbsp. l. fresh flowers mixed with 2 tbsp. l. butter and heat over very low heat for 7-10 minutes. Apply with furunculosis, abscesses, sprains.
Tincture: 100 g of dried yellow burkun pour a bottle (0.5 l) of vodka and leave for 2-3 weeks. Drink 10-12 drops before meals 3 times a day. Treats frequent migraines, hormonal disruptions, infertility, endometriosis.
For pain and swelling joints, wrap bags with steamed grass for 15-20 minutes before going to bed for 8-10 days.
Sweet clover honey is necessary for nursing mothers. Take 1 dessert spoon after each meal.
With cough, tracheobronchitis, pneumonia honey is mixed with black radish juice and consumed 1 dessert spoon 20 minutes before meals.

Did you know? Sweet clover honey occupies 50-70% of the US honey market.

Application in cooking

Sweet clover is used in cooking as a seasoning for fish dishes and soups, salads with this plant, sweet clover tea and are also eaten.

Salad Recipe:

4-5 fresh cucumbers, 2 boiled eggs, green onions, a pinch of sweet clover leaves, salt. Fill with sour cream or sunflower oil. If desired, cut young boiled.

Donnikov tea:

3 dec. l. dry herbs, 3 tablespoons or juice, 3 tbsp. l. pour 1.1 liters of water. Boil and let it brew. Be sure to strain.

Contraindications and side effects

Sweet clover yellow has not only medicinal properties, but also medical contraindications. Contraindications: pregnancy, lactation, decreased blood clotting, bleeding, kidney disease. Donnikovoy honey should not be used by allergy sufferers.
Before starting treatment, a doctor's consultation is necessary. When using, strictly adhere to the dosage. In large doses, it depresses the nervous system. Side effects can be insomnia, headache, nausea, vomiting, bleeding of mucous membranes.

Thanks

The site provides reference information for informational purposes only. Diagnosis and treatment of diseases should be carried out under the supervision of a specialist. All drugs have contraindications. Expert advice is required!

About 10 species grow on the territory of Russia sweet clover, however, two of them have found the greatest use in folk medicine - medicinal sweet clover (yellow) and white sweet clover. Both types of sweet clover grow in fields, along ravines and roads, mainly as a weed. The properties, use and contraindications for the use of these types of plants will be discussed in this article.

plant description

Melilot officinalis

Sweet clover (yellow) distinguished by high (up to one meter) branched stems and yellow flowers.

This type of sweet clover (unlike white) is more studied, and therefore is much more widely used in both folk and traditional medicine, in the treatment of the following conditions:

increased nervous excitability;
migraine;
insomnia;
menstrual disorders;
hysteria;
melancholy;
mastitis;
furunculosis;
bronchitis;
dropsy;
flatulence;
festering wounds.

White sweet clover

white clover has small white flowers. The chemical composition and properties of white sweet clover and yellow have differences.

Important! White sweet clover is poisonous, for this reason it is used as a remedy only by experienced herbalists.

This type of sweet clover has insecticidal properties, that is, it repels blood-sucking insects, for which the plant must be crushed or mashed to form juice.

The plant is used for:
1. Removal of worms.
2. Appetite increase.
3. Treatment of boils, ulcers, abscesses.

Sweet clover treatment

For therapeutic purposes, the flowering top (grass) of sweet clover, namely leaves and flowers, is used.

Sweet clover grass

The herb is an ingredient in emollient herbs used as poultices to treat calluses, festering and poorly healing wounds and ulcers, and swellings of the joints.

In addition, sweet clover grass helps to cure such diseases:

thrombophlebitis;
lymphostasis;
cold;
cough;
inflammation of the ovaries;
skin diseases;
eyelid inflammation.

Flowers

Well-steamed flowers of the plant are recommended to be applied to cold abscesses, as well as slowly forming boils. Also, by means of sweet clover flowers, flux, otitis media, suppuration of the mammary gland in women can be cured.

As an ointment, the flowers of the plant are used to treat skin diseases and difficult-to-heal wounds.

Collection and storage

Sweet clover (both medicinal and white) is harvested during its flowering, that is, from June to August. In the process of harvesting, the tops of the plants are cut off with knives, as well as side shoots, the length of which does not exceed 30 cm, but thick and coarse stems are not suitable for the preparation of medicines.

It is recommended to collect sweet clover in dry weather: the fact is that a wet plant, collected immediately after rain, quickly warms up and darkens, as a result of which its healing properties weaken. The collected sweet clover should be dried immediately, for which the raw material is laid out on paper under a well-ventilated canopy, in a thin layer (layer thickness should not exceed 7 cm), while the raw material must be periodically turned over. Drying of the plant stops when the stems become brittle. It is important not to overdry the raw materials, otherwise the leaves may crumble.

If a dryer is used to dry plants, then the temperature in it should not be more than 40 degrees. Properly dried sweet clover has the smell of fresh hay, and a salty-bitter taste. Dried raw materials are suitable for use for two years, and due to the strong smell, they are stored in a hermetically sealed container, in a place well protected from light.

Important! Sweet clover and white clover, often growing mixed, cannot be mixed during drying and harvesting of raw materials.

The composition and properties of sweet clover

Coumarin
Action of coumarin:

increased systolic blood pressure;
an increase in the amount of blood ejected by the heart in one minute;
an increase in the number of leukocytes in the blood;
improvement of cerebral and peripheral blood supply;
improvement of blood circulation of the abdominal organs;
CNS depression.

Dicoumarol
This substance prevents blood clotting, thereby helping to prevent the formation of blood clots.

Melilotin
It is from this substance that coumarin is released during the drying of sweet clover due to enzymatic cleavage.

Choline
Choline properties:

digestion of fats;
normalization of the functioning of the liver, as well as the gallbladder;
lowering cholesterol in the blood;
improved attention;
stimulation of cardiac activity;
strengthening the nervous system;
stimulation of the smooth muscles of the intestine;
prevention of premature aging.

Tannins
Tannins destroy the structure of the protein, as a result of which a protective albuminate film is formed, which has a bactericidal and bacteriostatic effect on microorganisms. Tannins have astringent properties.

Mucous substances
They are used as enveloping and emollients in the treatment of burns, diseases of the upper respiratory tract, as well as the digestive system.

resins
They have a bactericidal, bacteriostatic and antiseptic effect, due to which they are widely used in medicine in the manufacture of plasters and tinctures.

Saponins
Action of saponins:

regulation of water-salt metabolism;
elimination of inflammatory processes;
lowering blood pressure;
normalization of cholesterol metabolism;
strengthening the body's defenses.

Properties of saponins:

anti-inflammatory;
diaphoretic;
restorative;
emetic;
expectorant;
diuretic;
choleretic.

Protein
Protein is an energy source that provides the human body with hormones, antibodies and other vital enzymes (for example, amino acids that provide the structure of new tissues, in particular muscles and internal organs). The protein also provides restoration and support for the already existing structural elements listed above. Lack of protein can cause digestive problems and fluid retention in the body.

Starch
Starch is a complex carbohydrate with a high energy value. It is starch that, passing through the gastrointestinal tract, is transformed into glucose, which is a source of energy for the work of all muscle groups, including the heart.

Flavonoids
Properties of flavonoids:

antitoxic;
antimicrobial;
antiallergic;
choleretic;
anti-inflammatory;
wound healing;
antitumor;
bactericidal;
diuretic;
antispasmodic;
antipyretic;
anti-asthma.

Flavonoids strengthen the walls of capillaries, increasing their elasticity and lowering blood pressure, which is the prevention of atherosclerosis.

Vitamin C
Action of ascorbic acid:

normalization of the functioning of the central nervous system;
stimulation of the activity of the endocrine glands;
improved absorption of iron;
normalization of the process of hematopoiesis;
elimination of toxins.

Tocopherol
Properties of tocopherol (vitamin E):

stimulation of estrogen production;
accelerating the healing of wounds on the skin;
protection of the skin from the negative effects of ultraviolet radiation;
slowing down skin aging;
maintenance of water-lipid balance, which allows to eliminate skin peeling;
elimination of acne;
stimulation of the glands, including the sex;
elimination of puffiness;
improving the absorption of vitamin A by the body.

Fixed oils
Fatty oils contain both unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are not produced by the human body, but are extremely important for health. In addition, it is the composition of fatty oils that includes many vitamins that provide skin regeneration.

Due to the listed healing properties, the sweet clover plant is used in official medicine as an effective anticonvulsant. And in folk medicine, the use of this plant is much wider. So, preparations from sweet clover are used as analgesics, antiseptics, wound healing, sedatives and expectorants.

Composition and properties of white sweet clover

The chemical composition of white sweet clover:

coumarin;
choline;
resinous substances;
vitamin C;
fixed oils;
tocopherol;
ocumaric acid;
tannin;
essential oil;
protein;
ash.

Many of the listed substances are described above, so let us dwell in more detail on the characteristics of the components, the properties of which have not been covered.

Okumaric acid
This substance has antiseptic properties.

Tannin
A substance belonging to the class of tannins, which, in the process of modifying the protein of cells, forms a protective film, thereby exerting both bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects on pathogens. White sweet clover preparations (due to the presence of tannin in the plant) have an astringent effect, as a result of which they are widely used as mouth rinses, wound healing agents for burns. Also, tannin helps to normalize the work of the gastrointestinal tract and eliminate the symptoms that accompany poisoning with heavy metals or poisons of plant origin.

Essential oil
It has the following properties:

painkiller;
sedative;
antispasmodic;
bactericidal;
antiseptic;
anti-inflammatory.

Essential oil normalizes the functioning of the cardiovascular system, helps to alleviate cough by increasing the secretion of mucus. Essential oil also improves both motor and secretory functions of the gastrointestinal tract.

Protein
Protein properties:

increased immunity;
participation in building muscle mass;
ensuring the synthesis of hormones and enzymes.

Ashes
The ashes contained in white sweet clover have an anti-inflammatory and disinfectant effect, due to which compresses and ointments from this plant are used to treat purulent wounds and boils.

White sweet clover has the following pharmacological properties:

anticoagulant (slows down blood clotting);
fibrinolytic (dissolves intravascular thrombi, due to which it is used in the treatment of arterial and venous thrombosis);
antiseptic;
anti-inflammatory;
wound healing.

The use of sweet clover

Melilot officinalis has an expectorant and softening effect, therefore it is indicated for diseases of the respiratory system.

The plant has analgesic, sedative and anti-spasmodic properties, due to which it is used to treat the following conditions:

headache provoked by hypertension;
climacteric neurosis;

It has been proven that sweet clover preparations affect the body as follows:

significantly improve blood supply to both the myocardium and the peritoneal organs;
eliminate convulsions;
reduce blood clotting;
promote the regeneration of liver cells;
increase the content of leukocytes in the blood;
increase milk production in lactating women.

Sweet clover is part of the medicinal fees used to treat rheumatism, as well as oncological diseases.

Sweet clover has also found use in the treatment of female diseases and disorders, including:

violation of the menstrual cycle;
diseases of the female genital organs.

The plant has a carminative effect, that is, it normalizes intestinal motility and reduces increased gas formation.

Preparations from sweet clover are effective for both internal and external use. So, when applied externally (in the form of poultices, compresses and powder), this plant contributes to the rapid maturation, softening and, accordingly, the opening of abscesses, ulcers, abscesses and boils.

Also, the external use of sweet clover is indicated for such diseases:

rheumatism;

Melilot medicinal preparations are used in the form of:

decoctions;
infusions;
tinctures;
ointments;
extracts;
compresses and baths.

A decoction of sweet clover

20 g of dry and crushed raw materials (herbs) are poured with two glasses of water and boiled for half an hour on low heat, after which the broth is filtered and consumed 1 tbsp, two to three times a day. This decoction is indicated for such diseases:

kidney and liver diseases.

Infusion

2 tsp finely chopped sweet clover grass is poured with two glasses of cold water and infused for 4 hours. Then the infusion is filtered, and one third of a glass is drunk no more than three times a day, 40 minutes before meals. Reception of infusion will help relieve pain and relieve spasm.

Tincture

Pour 100 g of dry grass with 500 ml of vodka or 40% diluted alcohol. The drug is infused for 14 days, and then filtered and taken orally, 15 drops three times a day, before meals (the infusion is washed down with a small amount of water). The tincture is used in the treatment of infertility, endometriosis and migraine. Also, this recipe helps to restore hormonal levels. The tincture is stored for two years in the refrigerator.

Ointment from sweet clover

2 tbsp dried sweet clover flowers must be carefully ground into powder, to which 50 g of petroleum jelly is then added (fat or vegetable oil can be used). The resulting mass is well mixed and applied to the affected areas of the skin. Ointment promotes rapid healing of boils, carbuncles and purulent wounds.

Sweet clover extract

50 g of chopped grass are poured into 500 ml of alcohol or vodka, and infused for 10 days in a dark place. The tincture is filtered and taken 20 drops twice a day.

Compresses and baths

For external use, an infusion is prepared, for the preparation of which 2 tbsp. raw materials are poured 500 ml of boiling water. The resulting product is infused for 30 minutes and filtered. The infusion will help relieve inflammation and contribute to the rapid healing of wounds.

Sweet clover honey is widely used in the treatment of the following conditions:

joint tumors;
inflammation of the mammary glands;
bronchitis;

Sweet clover is a herbaceous biennial of the legume family. It is found on all continents, but is most common in Eurasia. Among the people, the plant is known under the names "sweet clover", "burkun", "sleepy grass", "hare chill", "soapy grass", "stable". Although it is impossible to call sweet clover exclusively decorative, it brings great benefits to the site and to the person, and is also an excellent honey plant. Because of this, it is worth sowing it on the site at least once every few years.

Botanical description

Sweet clover is a biennial or juvenile herbaceous culture up to 1-2 m high. A strong, branched rhizome can penetrate the soil to a depth of 150 cm. Nodules with nitrogen-fixing bacteria form on underground processes. Thin, slightly branched stems are covered with a smooth green skin. They form tall but transparent aerial vegetation.

On the shoots are small ovate or lanceolate leaves with wavy or serrated edges. They are slightly bent along the central vein. The foliage is painted in a bluish-green tint. Each petiole has 3 separate leaves. Small stipules are located at the junction with the stem. In the middle leaf, the petiole is somewhat longer than the lateral ones.

Long but narrow racemose inflorescences form on the tops of the stem and its lateral processes. Small corollas on short flexible pedicels are shaped like a moth 2-7 cm long. Flowers are painted yellow or white. The flowering period starts from June to August and lasts about a month. By mid-September, fruits ripen - small elongated beans with a few yellowish-brown seeds that look like beans.

Types of sweet clover

The genus of sweet clover cannot be called diverse. It includes only 22 plant species.

Sweet clover (yellow). A biennial plant with a taproot rhizome forms an airy, branched shoot 100-150 cm high. It is covered with small triple lanceolate leaves. The lobes grow on thin petioles and have jagged edges. Inflorescences in the form of narrow loose brushes bloom on thin shoots. Small moth corollas are painted yellow. Petals surround 10 long stamens, 9 of them with fused filaments. Depending on the climate, flowering occurs in June-September.

Biennial or annual with a branched stem grows 60-170 cm in height. The shoot is covered with rare trifoliate leaves. The top is decorated with a narrow brush with small white flowers. They bloom in summer. In total, flowering lasts about a month, but a single flower lives up to 2 days. The plant produces a large amount of nectar and is the best honey plant in the genus.

A rather compact herbaceous annual grows 15-50 cm in height. Its stems are covered with small, obovate leaves of dark green or bluish color. Short loose racemes consist of yellow flowers 2-3 mm long. They bloom in the first half of summer.

Annual herbs grow slightly pubescent, slightly branched shoots 15-100 cm long. The lower part of the stem gradually becomes reddish. The leaves closer to the ground are larger. Together with the petiole, their length reaches 6.5 cm. The color of the foliage is bright green. In summer, loose brushes with yellow moth flowers 5-7 mm long bloom on the shoots.

Growing from seeds

Due to its short life cycle, sweet clover is propagated by seeds. They are sown immediately in open ground before winter or in March-April at a temperature of 0 ... + 4 ° C. Before sowing, the seeds are soaked in warm water for 2-4 hours to soften the skin. For better germination, scarification is also carried out.

For sowing, holes are prepared with a depth of 1.5-2 cm at a distance of 50-60 cm. Seeds are scattered manually or agricultural machinery is used. Seed consumption rate: 200-250 g/ar. Shoots appear in 10-15 days. When the seedlings grow a few true leaves, they are weeded, increasing the distance between plants up to 30 cm. In the first year, flowering occurs towards the end of summer, so the fruits do not ripen. It is not so plentiful.

Features of care

In care, sweet clover grass is not whimsical. The right choice of location plays a decisive role. The plant needs a lot of light. It tolerates intense heat and frost equally well, so it does not need shelter.

The soil for planting can be heavy clay, sandy or rocky. Even on saline soil, sweet clover will grow. However, on acidic and flooded lands, he will not survive. It also adapts well to limestone. Before planting, the soil is fertilized with a small amount of organic matter. More fertilizer is not needed.

The plants are drought tolerant, so they usually don't need watering. Only with a long absence of precipitation, when the soil is very cracked, it is possible to water the plantings by sprinkling.

In autumn, the entire above-ground part dries up and dies. A well-developed, long rhizome is preserved underground. Already in early spring, new shoots appear from the renewal buds. If there is too much water from the melted snow, the shoots may rot.

When sweet clover is used as green manure, fodder and medicinal crop, it is cut at the budding stage. To increase the green mass, it is recommended to cut the roots with a special cultivator. Then it will develop better and be more saturated with nutrients.

Economic use

Sweet clover brings great benefits to the site. It is an excellent green manure. The rotted biomass, when decomposed, provides the soil with a large amount of nitrogen compounds and other nutrients. At the same time, a strong and long root penetrates into the depths and well loosens even knocked down clods and dense clay.

The earth becomes looser and more fertile. On sandy and light soils, rhizomes, on the contrary, have a binding effect and prevent erosion. If you do not cut the shoots, they will hold the snow. An additional advantage of sweet clover is its ability to fight root rot, wireworms and nematodes. Also, its smell repels rodents.

Fresh grass and hay made from cut sweet clover are rich in nutrients. The plant can easily compete with alfalfa or clover. Unfortunately, as the stems grow, they accumulate a large amount of coumarins, and they also become very tough. Therefore, fodder is harvested at the stage of budding. Sweet clover is recommended to be combined with other plants. It increases the amount of milk and body fat in animals.

Culture has an important role as a honey plant. The most effective sweet clover is white. During the flowering period, bees collect nectar in the amount of 1.5-2 kg/ha.

Sweet clover honey has a whitish, amber color and an intense aroma. It is used not only as a tasty supplement, but also for treatment. The use of the product increases lactation in lactating women. It is also taken as an antispasmodic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory agent. It relieves pain, relieves hypertension, spasms of the respiratory tract. It is also used externally, applying compresses to the chest with mastitis.

medicinal properties

Sweet clover is rich in coumarins, essential oils, resins, mucus, tannins. It is actively used in folk medicine. For medicinal purposes, flowers and the upper part of the shoots with leaves are used. They are cut and dried, then rubbed with hands, and the hard stems are removed. The resulting raw materials are stored in paper envelopes for up to 2 years. It has a strong dense aroma and a bitter aftertaste.

Ointments, decoctions and alcohol infusions are made from dry grass. Decoctions and tinctures are taken orally to treat insomnia, headaches, hypertension, bronchitis, flatulence and cystitis. Decoction compresses are applied for mastitis, sciatica, sprains, hemorrhoids, inflammatory processes and skin wounds. An ointment from the flowers helps relieve joint pain.

Treatment with sweet clover has contraindications. First of all, without exception, everyone should not increase the dosage, since coumarins can have a negative impact on health. As a result, dizziness, insomnia, headache appear. Also sweet clover is contraindicated in internal bleeding and liver disease.