YELLOW SWEETCLOVER 



Melilo'tus officina'lis 



W124 

 (2 leaves) 



Flowers small (about Y^ in. long), 

 white, pea-like, numerous, short- 

 stalked, minutely bracted, borne in 

 stalked, lax, axillary clusters (racemes) 



Petals 5, dissimilar: upper petal (ban- 

 ner) longer than 2 side petals (wings); 

 lower 2 united petals (keel) short, 

 blunt-tipped 



Outer united flower parts (calyx) 

 short, persistent, 5-toothed; teeth 

 nearly equal, narrow, about Xe in. 

 long 



Stamens 10, persistent; upper stamen 

 free, lower 9 united by their stalks 

 (filaments) 



Leaves alternate, stalked, with 3 leaf- 

 lets; bracts (stipules) .at base of leaf- 

 stalk somewhat bristlelike 



Leaflets stalked, narrowly to broadly 

 oblong, often rather square at tip, 

 finely toothed on margins 



Pod small, egg-shaped, leathery, net- 

 veined or wrinkly, usually 1-seeded 



Stems robust, erect, up to about 10 

 ft. high, ridged, branched, often hollow 



Taproot biennial, semiwoody, with 

 numerous, extensive laterals; bacterial 

 nodules present 



