Clover - Crimson

Scientific Name(s): Trifolium incarnatum
Abundance: uncommon
What: seeds, flower
How: seeds ground into flour, sprouted; flower raw or dried for tea
Where: sunny fields and ditches with moist soil, landscaping
When: spring, early summer
Nutritional Value: calories

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are arranged alternately along the stem.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are trifoliate, consisting of three leaflets. Each leaflet is ovate to elliptical in shape.

Venation: The venation is pinnate, with a central vein in each leaflet and smaller veins branching off to the sides.

Leaf Margin: The margins of the leaflets are entire, meaning they are smooth without any teeth or lobes.

Leaf Color: Leaves of crimson clover are typically a bright green color.

Flower Structure: The flowers are arranged in dense, elongated, cone-like heads up to 2" long. Each flower head is composed of numerous small, pea-like florets.

Flower Color: The flowers are a striking crimson red, which is the characteristic feature of this clover species.

Fruit: The fruit is a small pod, typically containing only a few seeds.

Seeds: Seeds are small, yellow to brown in color, and kidney-shaped.

Stem: The stem of Trifolium incarnatum is erect, branching, and somewhat hairy.

Hairs: The plant has fine hairs along the stems and on the leaves.

Height: Crimson clover can reach 20" tall in ideal growing conditions but is often half that height.

Field of crimson clover


Young flower just beginning to turn crimson.


Mature flower head. They are much more elongated than white and red clovers


Close-up of leaf. Note the fine hairs along the leaflets' edges.


Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.


North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.


The sunny fields of east Texas turn fiery red in the springtime with thousands of Crimson Clover flowerheads. This durable, prolific wildflower can often be found growing profusely in road medians thanks to Lady Bird Johnson's Texas beautification program. Beware sticking your nose too close to inhale its sweet aroma as both butterflies and bees find its nectar quite delicious!

Though lacking the medicinal properties of Red Clover, Crimson Clover's flowerhead makes a pleasant tea and can be used either fresh or after drying. I've never smoked it but based on my experience with other clovers, it's likely it'll be just as good.

The seeds have a long history of being collected and ground into flour. The individual seeds are small but it's relatively easy to harvest many of them to add to other plant seeds you've gathered. These seeds can also be sprouted into highly nutritious microgreens using standard sprouting techniques.

Being a nitrogen fixer, Crimson Clover makes an excellent fallow crop for revitalizing depleted soils. They prefer near-neutral pH soil with good drainage for optimal growth. A thick mat of this will often choke out other weeds which is either good or bad depending on how hungry you are. :-)


Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.

Sweet Clover

Scientific Name(s): Melilotus officinalis
Abundance: common
What: flowers, seeds, leaves
How: flowers in tea, seeds raw or roasted then ground into flour, leaves in salads or cooked
Where: Neglected areas, fields, yards
When: late winter through summer
Nutritional Value: starch in the seeds, protein in the leaves

Dangers: The leaves contain the potent blood anticoagulant agent coumarin. Do not consume this plant if you're already on blood thinner medication.

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are arranged alternately along the stem.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are trifoliate, meaning each leaf is composed of three leaflets. The leaflets are oblong to elliptical in shape.

Venation: This plant features pinnate venation, where each leaflet has a central vein with smaller veins branching out to the sides.

Leaf Margin: The margins of the leaflets are serrated or toothed, particularly towards the tip.

Leaf Color: The leaves are a light green to greenish-yellow color.

Flower Structure: The flowers are small and arranged in elongated, narrow clusters or racemes, about 1"-1.5" long. Each flower is typical of the pea family, with a standard, wings, and keel.

Flower Color: The flowers are yellow or white, but all the flowers on a single plant will be the same color.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, blackish-brown pod, containing usually one or two seeds.

Seeds: Seeds are small, yellowish-brown, plentiful, and smooth.

Stem: The stems are erect, branching, and can be slightly hairy.

Hairs: There can be fine hairs on the stems and leaves, but they are generally not prominently hairy.

Height: Yellow sweet clover typically grows to a height of 2 to 5 feet.

Sweet Clover plant.




Close-up of Sweet Clover leaves.


Close-up of Sweet Clover leaf top.


Close-up of Sweet Clover leaf bottom.


Sweet Clover flowers.




Close-up of Sweet Clover flowers.


Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.


North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.



Sweet Clover have the same three-leaf shape as regular clover but the plant itself grows upright to over a two feet tall. Its young leaves can be eaten raw but can be slightly tough. The yellow flowers can be used to make a sweet clover tea. These flowers eventually form individual seedpods each containing one seed. These seeds can be eaten raw or roasted then ground into flour. Like most seeds they can also be boiled into a porridge or gruel.

Like other clovers, hops clover can fix atmospheric nitrogen, turning it into a form usable by other plants. For this reason it is a good "weed" to let grow in your garden as it will fertilize nearby plants.

Medicinal Summary:
Flowers/Leaves - blood thinner; would healer (tisane)

Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.

Clover - Red

Scientific Name(s): Trifolium pratense
Abundance: uncommon
What: leaves, flowers
How: leaves raw or boiled; flowers tea or smoked
Where: sunny fields
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: protein, assorted medicinal compounds

Medicinal Summary:
Flowers - possible female hormone replacement; soothes hot flashes; adjusts menstrual irregularities (tisane)

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves have an alternate arrangement with leaves emerging individually at different points along the stem.

Leaf Shape: The compound leaves are trifoliate, meaning each leaf is composed of three leaflets. These leaflets are broadly ovate, meaning they are egg-shaped with the wider end at the base.

Venation: Red clover exhibits pinnate venation, where a central vein runs through each leaflet with smaller veins branching off to the sides.

Leaf Margin: The margins of the leaflets are slightly toothed or serrated, particularly towards the tip.

Leaf Color: The leaves are a rich green, often with a characteristic lighter or white V-shaped marking on each leaflet.

Flower Structure: The flowers are grouped in dense, round to oval flower heads. Each flower head consists of numerous small, tubular florets.

Flower Color: The flowers are typically a deep pink or purple, though they can occasionally be a lighter pink or even white at the top of the clusters.

Fruit: The fruit is a small pod, usually containing one or two seeds.

Seeds: Seeds are small, yellowish to dark brown, and kidney-shaped.

Stem: The stem of Trifolium pratense can be either erect or ascending.

Hairs: There are fine hairs present on the stems and leaves, giving them a slightly fuzzy texture.

Height: Red clover plants typically grow to a height of 12 to 20 inches.

Red clover (plus some white clover around the edges)




Close-up of red clover flower. Note the white "V" chevrons on the leaves (somewhat hard to see in this picture).




Extreme close-up of Red Clover flower.


Red clover leaf. Note the white "V" on each leaflet.


Red clover stems are hairy.


Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.


North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.



Red clovers fill fields and country roadside ditches with bright splashes of color. They form thick colonies of plants, usually well under two feet tall. They are often planted on purpose along Texas roadside for their color and beauty.

Red clover leaves and flowers can be eaten raw but they are easier to digest if boiled for a bit. More often the flowers (fresh or dried) are made into beneficial tea. Seep/simmer (don't boil) the red clover leaves and flowers in water for about ten minutes to release its full flavor and helpful chemicals such as salicylic acid (aspirin), trypotphan (sleep inducer), genistan (anti-cancer agent), and estrogenic chemicals.

Red clover turns purple as it dries. If picked still red and allowed to dry it creates a delicious flavored smoke. However, don't bother trying to smoke flower heads which dried still on the plant, they aren't nearly as flavorful.



Buy my book! Idiots Guide Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.

Clover - White

Scientific name: Trifolium repens L.
Abundance: common
What: leaves, flowers, root
How: leaves-raw or cooked before flowers appear; flowers-raw, cooked, dried for tea or flour, also smoked; root-dried then cooked
Where: lawns, fields
When: spring, summer, fall
Nutritional Value: protein
Danger: soon after picking white clover can form dangerous cyanide.

Leaf Arrangement: Alternate; each leaf consists of three oval leaflets, each leaflet measuring about 0.5 to 1.5 inches long.

Leaf Shape: Oval to egg-shaped leaflets with a slightly pointed tip.

Venation: Pinnate, with a visible central vein on each leaflet.

Margin: Smooth and entire.

Leaf Color: Bright green, sometimes with a lighter or white crescent shape or V mark on each leaflet.

Flower Structure: Clustered small flowers forming a round or oval head, each flower head measuring about 0.5 to 1 inch in diameter.

Flower Color: Flowers are white.

Fruit: A small pod, typically hidden within the calyx of the flower.

Seeds: Each pod contains 1 to 4 seeds, tiny and yellow to orange-brown in color.

Stem: Creeping, slender, and branched, rooting at the nodes.

Hairs: Generally hairless, occasionally with sparse, fine hairs along edges of leaflets.

Height: Spreads along the ground, rarely exceeding 6 inches in height.

A patch of White Clover.


Close-up of leaves and flower.


Very close-up of White Clover flower.


Clover leaves (right) are rounded while Wood Sorrel leaves (left) are heart-shaped.


Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.


North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.


Many homeowners wage chemical warfare on patches of white clover in their grass without ever realizing that this plant not only produces nitrogen necessary for healthy grass, it's also delicious and nutritious! Both fresh or dried clover flowers can seeped in hot water to make a fantastic, naturally sweet tea. The leaves and roots can be added to stews, soups and other simmered dishes for a boost of protein. I like adding it to tomato-based sauces whose acidity helps break down and "pre-digest" the protein, making it easier for human stomachs to digest it.

The flowers and leaves must be used either within 30 minutes after picking or left to dry for 4-6 weeks. Soon after being picked the plant starts producing cyanide compounds and in an hour or less they can become dangerous to eat. If left to dry for 4-6 weeks these cyanides will disappear. For this reason one should NOT include clover when making sauerkraut, kimchi, or other fermented greens as the fermentation process doesn't interfere with the production of cyanide.

Dried white clover flowers make a very pleasant tasting herbal smoke.


Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.

Coral Bean

Scientific Name(s): Erythrina herbacea
Abundance: uncommon
What: flowers & young leaves
How: cooked flowers and leaves; tea from young leaves
Where: open fields and woodland clearings with sandy soil
When: spring.  
Nutritional Value: antioxidants
Dangers: plant must be cooked to remove toxins, do NOT eat the seeds or older, mature leaves.

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are alternate along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Compound leaves with three leaflets, each leaflet measuring approximately 3 to 6 inches in length.

Leaf Color: Foliage is typically green.

Flower Structure: Coral bean produces showy, tubular flowers arranged in clusters. Individual flowers are around 1.5 to 2 inches long.

Flower Color: Flowers are typically bright red, coral pink, or occasionally white.

Fruit (Seed): The fruit is a pod, green when young and maturing to reddish-brown, and around 4 to 6 inches long. Mature seeds are bright red.

Bark: The bark is typically smooth and gray.

Height: Coral bean plants can reach heights of 6 to 10 feet.

Hairs: The plant may have sparse hairs on the stems and leaves.

Thorns: Some varieties may have thorns on the branches.

Growth Form: Coral bean has a shrub-like or small tree growth form.

A young Coral Bean flowering in the spring woods.


Coral Bean flowers in spring.


Close-up of flowers.


Coral Bean leaves, already too big to cook and eat.




Coral Bean "beans", which are NOT edible.




Dried seed pods from the previous year.




Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.


North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.


The bright red, tubular flowers of the coral bean bush make a distinctive addition to the Gulf Coast region spring colors. This leggy bush, if not subjected to a killing frost, can grow into a small, wide-crowned tree which is sometimes used in landscaping. Normally it is found as a clusters of bushes about four feet tall in open clearings of woods and occasionally in fields. It does best in sandy, well-drained soils such as those along rivers and stream but due to their preference for dry feet, they'll be back quite a way from the water's edge. If the winter was mild enough you are likely to find flowers, fresh green seedpods and old cracked-open seedpods on the same plant. The spade-shaped, compound leaves grown in groups of three and have the neat feature of always being turned toward the sun, a process which is called "phototropism".

The only edible part of this plant are the red flowers and youngest leaves. Both parts must be boiled for 15 minutes to render them safe to eat. Cooking does shrink them the flowers and leaves down quite a bit so you'll want to harvest a lot...but never more than 10% of the flowers and new leaves so to insure the plant stays healthy and can reproduce. Stick to eating leaves 1.0-1.5 inches long, or smaller. The young leaves can also be boiled for a tea which some native tribes considered to be a general health tonic.

The red beans can not be made safe to eat as they contain a poison similar to curare. In Mexico these seeds are used to poison pest animals such as rats.

Hummingbirds love the sweet nectar found in the flowers and are immune to the coral bean toxins. While foragers and hummingbirds may like this shrub, many other land-owners find it to be a somewhat invasive nuisance. The plant produces many seeds which can cause it to quickly spread over an area, rendering it unfit for cattle or other domesticated animals.


Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.

Corn Salad

Scientific Name(s): Valerianella olitoria, V. locusta, & other Vealerianella species
Abundance: rare
What: leaves
How: raw or cooked when young before flowers appear
Where: moist shaded yards, borders, and woods
When: fall, winter (in Houston), spring
Nutritional Value: Vitamins A,Bs,C
Dangers: Beware the inedible, similar-looking Cudweed.

Leaf Arrangement: Forms a basal rosette.

Leaf Shape:  Club-shaped (oblanceolate to spatulate) with a broader base narrowing towards the tip. 

Venation: Pinnate, with a central vein more pronounced than the lateral ones.

Margin: Entire, with smooth edges.

Leaf Color: Dark green, with a slightly glossy appearance.

Flower Structure: Tiny flowers grouped in loose cymes at the top of the stem.

Flower Color: Pale blue to white, sometimes with a hint of pink.

Fruit: A small, dry nutlet, less than 1/8" in diameter, slightly lobed.

Seeds: Typically one seed per fruit, small and enclosed within the nutlet.

Stem: Grows in a fractal pattern - one stem coming out of the ground which branches into two stems, and each of those may branch into another two, and each of those may branch again into two before ending with the flowers at the tips.

Hairs: Generally lacks hairs, presenting a smooth surface.

Plant Height: Ranges from 6 to 20 inches in height.

Young corn salad, ready for picking.


Mature Corn Salad (doesn't taste good at this point)


Close-up of Corn Salad flowers


Close-up of the Corn Salad stem. Note how the stem leaves encircle the stem itself.


Texas distribution, attributed to U.S. Department of Agriculture.



North American Distribution, attributed to U.S. Department of Agriculture

I have found it in Harris & Montgomery counties as well as assorted places in East Texas, from Dallas to the Louisiana border.

Quickly sprouting up in late spring, Corn salad appears in sandy, shaded soil. It's delicate club-shaped leaves grow in an alternating opposite arrangement and that is when you want to eat it. In just a few weeks the plant's single stem will split into two stalks and then each of those will split into two more. Where the stem splits the leaves fuse into a single, pointy leaf surrounding the stem. At the top of the stalks a small cluster of white flowers appear, followed quickly by it going to seed. This plant grows and dies in just a few weeks.

Corn salad is not native to North America but came over with French settlers. It is a common, domestic salad vegetable in France. It has escape French gardens and can now be found in growing in thin stands in sandy, well-drained soil but needs a fair amount of moisture.

Be careful not to mistake Cudweed (Pseudognaphalium species) for Corn Salad. Picture below is the inedible (but medicinal and smokable) Cudweed. Note it has many more leaves than corn salad and the underside of the leaves are gray.



Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.