Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Melilotus albus
FAMILY
Fabaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Learn more about White Sweetclover from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The similar M. albus and M. officinalis are apparently incompatible (Isely 1998) and differ in less obvious ways than flower color; they should not be synonymized. To learn other differences, read more in Weakley's Flora (2022)
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Melilotus officinalis
FAMILY
Fabaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Melilotus officinalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Melilotus albus
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-15-003:
Melilotus alba FAMILY Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Melilotus alba
COMMON NAME:
White Sweetclover, White Melilot
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_meal12_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_meal12_008_lvd
)
Keith Bradley kab_melilotus_albus_72781
February Miami-Dade County FL
)
Roxanna Martin rlm53010_675
May Spartanburg County SC
M. albus & officinalis are apparently incompatible should not be synonymized, per Weakley's Flora.
)
Roxanna Martin rlm53010_679
May Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0506k_01
June Union County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm060607_015
June Greenville County SC
Field
)
JK Marlow jkm140623_188
June Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Flowers white, pea-like, 0.25" long, borne in narrow loose racemes, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm140623_188b
June Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Calyx lobes deltoid to subulate, 0.5-1mm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Roxanna Martin rlm61210_98
June Spartanburg County SC
)
Roxanna Martin rlm6410_313
June Spartanburg County SC
)
Roxanna Martin rlm6410_314
June Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow s050625_d
June Union County
Leaves stalked and trifoliate with lance-shaped leaflets 0.4-1" long, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
COMPARE
leaves that are trifoliolate and pinnately compound
)
JK Marlow s050625_d1
June Union County
)
JK Marlow jkm0507d_34
July Fayette County WV
Roadside
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Melilotus albus
FAMILY
Fabaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Melilotus officinalis
FAMILY
Fabaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Melilotus officinalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Melilotus albus
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT)
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-15-003:
Melilotus alba
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT)
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Melilotus alba
925
Forb
Biennial
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Eurasia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
LEAVES:
Odd-pinnately compound: 3 leaflets
Mostly alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
White
Bilaterally symmetrical
5-parted papilionaceous corolla
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Dark brown/ Blackish
Legume
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p060
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p089
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p203
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p032
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p200
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p137
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p174
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p086
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".