Yellow sweet clover is a plant with edible flowers, roots, leaves, and seeds that can be used for flavoring and medicinal purposes. It contains coumarin, which gives it a hay-like aroma and anticoagulant properties. However, improper drying can produce a toxic substance called dicoumarol.
Yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis), or yellow sweet clover, is a plant with clusters of yellow, slightly fragrant flowers and sweet, hay-scented foliage. It is commonly found growing in fields. A substance called coumarin, which is produced by the plant and contains anticoagulant properties, is believed to be responsible for its hayy aroma. In some areas, the yellow clover may also be known as the King’s shamrock, as it was thought to have been used by Henry VIII. Also, its yellow flowers resemble a crown.
Throughout the long history of this clover, it has been used as food. The flowers, raw or cooked, are edible. The roots, leaves, and seeds of sweet yellow clover are also edible. These are usually cooked like vegetables and eaten. Similarly, the young leaves are often eaten in salads.
Also, the flowers and seeds of yellow melilot can be used as flavoring. For example, the French have used it as a flavoring for rabbit stuffing for centuries. Additionally, the flowers and seeds of the yellow sweet clover have been used to flavor many types of cheeses. Throughout Europe and other regions, the leaves and flowers have been used to flavor soups, stews, and marinades.
Sweet yellow clover also has considerable medicinal qualities. For example, it has been used as an anticoagulant, diuretic, laxative, stimulant, and tonic. The plant can be smoked or made into a tea and taken internally, or prepared as a poultice for external use. Its most notable remedies are for the treatment of hemorrhoids, varicose veins, flatulence, and other gastrointestinal disorders. Yellow clover also helps reduce the risk of thrombosis or clot transfer.
Headaches, painful urination, heart palpitations, menstruation, and sore muscles can be alleviated with sweet yellow clover remedies. It has also been known to soften and soften the skin in some people. Since the plant acts as a mild sedative, in tea form it can help relieve insomnia and nervous tension. As a poultice, it can be ideal for eye inflammation, ulcers, swollen joints, bruises, boils, minor injuries and rheumatism.
The leaves of the sweet yellow clover can be dried and used as an insect repellent, and is believed to be especially good at repelling moths. These sheets were also used to stuff pillows and mattresses, although it is rarely practiced today. In general, the plant is harvested in summer and then dried for later use.
If not dried properly, the leaves of sweet yellow clover can spoil, producing a toxic anticoagulant substance. The toxin, called dicoumarol, actually converts to coumarin and prevents blood from clotting. Dicoumarol is so potent that it is often an ingredient found in many types of rat poison. In addition to the plant’s potential to produce this harmful substance, it is recommended that remedies containing yellow melilot not be prescribed to people with a history of poor blood clotting.
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