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Native Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

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Melilotus officinalis (Yellow sweetclover)
San Antonio River Authority

Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam.

Yellow sweetclover, White Sweet Clover

Fabaceae (Pea Family)

USDA Symbol: MEOF

USDA Native Status: Cultivated, or not in the U.S.

Small, somewhat pea-like flowers, fragrant when crushed, are in long, slender, cylindrical, spike-like clusters rising in the leaf axils on a bushy plant.

Unpublished. Non-native. This tall, introduced legume has the fragrance of new-mown hay when crushed. Both this plant and yellow Sweet Clover (M. indicus) are widely used as pasture crops for nitrogen enrichment of the soil. They are also highly valued as honey plants as suggested by the genus name from meli, a Greek word meaning honey.

 

From the Image Gallery

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White , Yellow
Bloom Time: May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct

Distribution

USA: DC , IN , OR
Canada: AB , BC , MB , NB , NL , NS , NT , ON , PE , QC , SK
Native Habitat: Roadsides and fields.
USDA Native Status: L48(I), AK(I), HI(I), PR(I), CAN(I), GL(I), SPM(I)

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade , Shade
CaCO3 Tolerance: High

Benefit

Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Fragrant Flowers: yes
Fragrant Foliage: yes

Value to Beneficial Insects

Special Value to Native Bees
Special Value to Bumble Bees
Special Value to Honey Bees

This information was provided by the Pollinator Program at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)

Melilotus officinalis is a larval host and/or nectar source for:
Eastern Tailed-Blue
(Cupido comyntas)

Larval Host
Learn more at BAMONA

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is either on display or available from the following:

Fredericksburg Nature Center - Fredericksburg, TX
Brackenridge Field Laboratory - Austin, TX

Herbarium Specimen(s)

NPSOT 0455 Collected Jun 5, 1987 in Bexar County by Harry Cliffe

Bibliography

Bibref 1186 - Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America (2005) Covell, C.V., Jr.
Bibref 1185 - Field Guide to Western Butterflies (Peterson Field Guides) (1999) Opler, P.A. and A.B. Wright

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Recommended Species Lists

Find native plant species by state. Each list contains commercially available species suitable for gardens and planned landscapes. Once you have selected a collection, you can browse the collection or search within it using the combination search.

View Recommended Species page

Additional resources

USDA: Find Melilotus officinalis in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Melilotus officinalis in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Melilotus officinalis

Metadata

Record Modified: 2012-08-01
Research By: TWC Staff

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