More Morton Magic #12: Bee Magnet
This is the 12th of a 17-cache series which will take you on a wonderful 6km looping trail up the deep Morton valley through Sunnydale and The Glen passing historical farm and residential buildings, industrial ruins, mill ponds and weirs, rich deciduous and pine woodlands, a reservoir, waterfall, low moorland, farm fields and then back down an old track and flower-festooned path into the village.
The cache, a camo-topped 35mm film pot, is hidden alongside the track as it makes its way from the top of The Glen towards Uplands Farm. At a point close to here the Roman Road RR720s from Ilkley to Manchester passed on its way south down Rombalds Moor and on through the Morton area. There are signs (traces of a bridge ramp and cuttings) that it crossed Bradup Beck some 150m to the NE from GZ (see here and Gallery aerial photo).
Directions: from #11, head west along the track and follow it down and around the bend, crossing Bradup Beck - one of the main feeder streams for Sunnydale Reservoir and Morton Beck - and on to the cache location.
The remaining six caches in the series will focus on common wayside plants - each with its unique fascinating features worthy of note - which you will be certain to see at many suitable locations along the trail . . .
The Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) is a herbaceous short-lived perennial flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwest Africa, but planted and naturalized in many other regions.
It prefers growing in grassy places like fields, lawns, roadsides and wildflower meadows and is found throughout Britain. It varies in size growing to 20–80cm tall and has a deep taproot which makes it tolerant to drought and gives it a good soil structuring effect. It succeeds on poor soil.
Its nectar-rich flowers (June-October) are varying shades of dark pink-purple with a paler base (rarely white or cream), 12–15mm (0.5–0.6 in) long, produced in a dense inflorescence, and are a favourite of many species of bee, including the common carder bee, honeybee and red-tailed bumblebee.
Uses: it is widely grown as a fodder crop, valued for its nitrogen fixation, which increases soil fertility. For these reasons, it is used as a green manure crop. Several cultivar groups have been selected for agricultural use. It has become naturalised in many temperate areas, including the Americas and Australasia as an escape from cultivation.
Due to its beauty, it is used as an ornamental plant.
Its edible flowers and leaves are very nutritious, a good source of protein, and can be added as garnishes to
any dish. They can be ground into a flour. The flowers are also a source of delicious honey.
The flowers are also used to make jelly and tisanes, and are used in essiac (traditional herbal) recipes. Their essential oil may be extracted and its unique scent used in aromatherapy.
The tisane 'tastes good' and is mineral rich and therefore tends to be alkalinizing which can 'help the body detox from accumulated metabolic wastes, which are mostly acidic. Stressors that put a high physical demand on the body such as infection, chronic disease or physically demanding work can be helped with red clover tea because of its buffering effect'.
Its perennial nature gives sustained, reliable growth and its ability to fix nitrogen (which it stores in root nodules) promotes protein rich growth, enables it to support a wide range of wildlife including deer, turkeys, and rabbits. These characteristics make it useful for hunters interested in attracting game.
The pink flowers afford high visibility levels and facilitate such attraction and may be used by wildlife remediation teams and conservationists seeking to build wildlife bridges to connect fragmented habitats.
Medicinal Uses: In alternative/herbal medicine, it is promoted as a treatment for a various conditions, including symptoms of menopause, coughs, disorders of the lymphatic system and a variety of cancers. See here for a short video on the myriad of claimed medicinal benefits of the plant.
Research has concluded that red clover extract probably reduces the frequency of menopause hot flushes - but more research is needed to confirm this. There is nothing in the literature that red clover has been tested for effects on cough, lymphatic system or cancer prevention/treatment. Dietary amounts of red clover are safe, but dietary supplement extracts may cause rash-like reactions, muscle ache, headache, nausea, vaginal bleeding and slow blood clotting.
It contains coumestrol, a phytoestrogen. Due to its oestrogenic activity, it is contraindicated in people with a history of breast cancer, endometriosis, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, uterine fibroids or other oestrogen-sensitive conditions, although some authors say high isoflavone content counteracts this, and even provides benefits in these conditions.
Due to its coumarin derivatives, it should be used with caution in individuals with coagulation disorders or currently undergoing anticoagulation therapy.
Cultural links: it is the national flower of Denmark and the state flower of Vermont.
The idea of a 'lucky 4-leafed clover' comes from Ireland. This extra leaf is simply due to a mutation which can in fact can cause even more than 4. Such mutations are fairly common in plants.
The phrase 'living in clover' comes from the contented cattle fed on the plant.
See short videos here (foraging for edible protein), here (wild edibles), here (herbal medicine benefits) and here (time lapse of seed to flower in 42 days).