LEGUMINOSAE 



PULSE FAMILY 



YELLOW SWEET CLOVER 



Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam. 



The Yellow Sweet Clover and its close relative White Sweet 

 Clover, Melilotus alba Desr., are very similar except in size and 

 the color of their flowers. Both are naturalized from Europe 

 and are common mostly 

 throughout the United States. 

 In many places they are ex- 

 tensively grown as forage crops 

 and honey plants. They pro- 

 duce nectar most abundantly 

 in a rather dry climate, such 

 as that west of the Mississippi 

 river. 



The white species grows 

 up to lo feet and the yellow 

 not much more than 3. 

 Branchlets and leaves are 

 covered with short fine hairs. 

 The foliage has a delightful 

 fragrance, especially as it 

 dries, and because of it the 

 branches are often gathered 

 and hung in rooms and closets. 

 They are likewise hung at the 

 doorways of country homes to 

 keep away flies, which dislike 

 the odor. 



The White Sweet Clover 

 usually begins blooming in 



June about 1 weeks before the Yellow and both continue to 

 produce their butterfly-shaped flowers through the summer. 

 In the flowers of the yellow species all the petals are about the 

 same length but in the white species the standard is longer. 

 The pods contain i or 2 seeds. 



Another very common Yellow Clover, also from Europe, is the 

 Black Medick or Nonesuch, Medicago lupulina L. This is a low 

 creeping annual with wedge-shaped or nearly round leaflets, 

 toothed near the tip. The yellow flowers are nearly like those of 

 Sweet Clover but are in short spikes. The pods are kidney form 

 and 1-seeded. 



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