Flora of North America species comparison

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Melilotus indicus

Melilotus altissimus

annual yellow or Indian or small-flower sweet-clover, annual yellow sweet-clover, Indian sweet-clover, small-flower melilot, small-flower sweet clover, small-flower yellow sweet-clover, sour clover, yellow sweetclover

grand mélilot, tall yellow sweetclover
Habit Herbs annual, (10–)15–60 cm. Herbs biennial or short-lived perennial, 60–160 cm.
Stems

erect or ascending.

erect.
Leaves

stipules lanceolate-subulate to setaceous, (3–)4–6(–8) mm, margins subentire (entire or toothed at base);

leaflet blades lanceolate-oblong, oblanceolate, or obovate, (8–)12–25 × (2–)7–10 mm, margins dentate.

stipules subulate-setaceous, 5–8 mm, margins entire;

leaflet blades linear to lanceolate-oblong, oblong-ovate, or cuneate, 20–40 × 4–10 mm, margins subentire or dentate.
Racemes

10–50-flowered.

15–50-flowered.
Pedicels

1 mm.

2 mm.
Flowers

1.5–3 mm;

corolla yellow;

ovary glabrous.

5–7 mm;

corolla yellow;

ovary appressed-pubescent.
Legumes

subglobose, 1.5–3(–4) mm, strongly reticulate-veined, glabrous.

obovoid or elongated-ellipsoid, 3.5–5(–6) mm, reticulate-veined, areoles not notably elongated transversely, appressed-pubescent.
Seeds

1 (or 2), ovoid, 1.8–2.3 mm.

usually 2, ovoid or ellipsoid, 2–2.5 mm.
2n

= 16 [18 (Asia)].

= 16 (Eurasia).

Melilotus indicus

Melilotus altissimus
Phenology Flowering spring–fall. Flowering early summer–fall.
Habitat Waste places, roadsides, grass­lands. Waste places, roadsides.
Elevation 0–2000 m. (0–6600 ft.) 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; DE; FL; GA; ID; KY; LA; MA; ME; MI; MN; MS; NC; ND; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OK; OR; PA; SC; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; NS; Asia; Greenland; Europe; Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, Central America (Honduras), South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile), Pacific Islands (New Zealand)]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
IL; ME; MI; NJ; NY; OH; PA; WI; NB; NS; ON; Greenland; Europe [Introduced in North America; introduced also in South America, Asia]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Melilotus indicus occasionally has been grown as a forage crop in the southern United States; it is generally considered to be an undesirable weed.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Melilotus Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Melilotus
Sibling taxa
M. albus, M. altissimus, M. officinalis, M. sulcatus, M. wolgicus
M. albus, M. indicus, M. officinalis, M. sulcatus, M. wolgicus
Synonyms Trifolium indicum, Trigonella smallii Trigonella altissima
Name authority (Linnaeus) Allioni: Fl. Pedem. 1: 308. (1785) — (as indica) Thuillier: Fl. Env. Paris ed. 2, 378. (1799) — (as altissima)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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