Also called ◼︎ yellow melilot, ribbed melilot and common melilot.

Part of 🍀︎ sweet clover  genus Melilotus in 🥜︎ legume / bean / pea  family Fabaceae in order Fabales.

Native to Eurasia.   🗺 Map by county (🇺🇸 USA-48) (color key).   Invasive > 🌐︎ various Invasive > 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 Canada+USA Invasive > report it! Invasive > 🇺🇸 USA Invasive > Michigan

Uses by native peoples
(Ethnobotany database)

Like most legumes, this plant cooperates with a bacterium that fixes atmospheric nitrogen into a form usable by plants and animals.

That allows these plants to:

  • outcompete non-nitrogen-fixing plants in poorer soils, and/or
  • have seeds and foliage with more protein.

This makes their seeds and foliage more nutritious to plant-eaters.  And growing these plants may improve the quality of worn-out farmland and disturbed soils.

Learn more about ◼︎ 🍀︎ yellow sweet clover Melilotus officinalis

Management and Control (Wisconsin)  Adobe Acrobat Reader file

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