CHAPTER XI 



SWEET CLOVER 



Sweet clover is so named from the sweet odor 

 which emanates from the living plants. It is of two 

 species. These are designated, respectively, Meli- 

 lotus alba and Melilotus officinalis. The former is 

 also called Bokhara clover, White Melilot and Tree 

 clover. It is possibly more widely known by the 

 name Bokhara than by any other designation. The 

 latter is sometimes called Yellow clover. The dif- 

 ference between these in appearance and habits of 

 growth does not seem to be very marked, except that 

 the blossoms of the former are white and those of 

 the latter are yellow. 



Sweet clover is upright and branched in its habit, 

 of growth. It attains to a height of from 2 to 

 8 feet, according to the soil in which the plants grow. 

 The somewhat small and truncate leaves are not 

 so numerous, relatively, as with some other varieties 

 of clover, and the stems are woody in character, espe- 

 cially as they grow older. The blossoms are small 

 and white or yellow, according to the variety, > and 

 the seed pods are black when ripe. The roots are 

 large and more or less branched, and go down to 

 a great depth in the soil; especially is this true of 

 the main, or tap root. 



The plants, according to Beale, are annual or bi- 



