| Melilotus officinalis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Melilotus |
| Species: | M. officinalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Melilotus officinalis | |
Melilotus officinalis, known as sweet yellow clover, yellow melilot, ribbed melilot [1] and common melilot, is a species of legume native to Eurasia and introduced in North America, Africa, and Australia. [2]
Melilotus officinalis can be an annual or biennial plant, and is 120–180 centimetres (4–6 ft) high at maturity. [2] Leaves alternate on the stem and possess three leaflets. Yellow flowers bloom in spring and summer and produce fruit in pods typically containing one seed. Seeds can be viable for up to 30 years. Plants have large taproots and tend to grow in groups. [2] Plants have a characteristic sweet odor. [2]
M. officinalis is native to Europe and Asia and has been introduced to North America as a forage crop. [2] It commonly grows in calcareous loamy and clay soils with a pH above 6.5 and can tolerate cold temperatures and drought; it does not tolerate standing water [2] or acidic soils, with a pH of 5.5 as the plant's lowest limit. [3] Common places where it can be found include open disturbed land, prairies, and savannahs, and it grows in full or partial sunlight. It is an invasive species in areas where it has been introduced, especially in open grasslands and woodlands where it shades and outcompetes native plant species. [2]
Sweet clover contains coumarin that converts to dicoumarol, which is a powerful anticoagulant toxin, when the plant becomes moldy. This can lead to bleeding diseases (internal hemorrhaging) and death in cattle. Consequently, hay containing the plant must be properly dried and cured, especially in wet environments. [4] [3]
The seeds are eaten by game birds, including grouse. [5]
Sweetclover can be used as pasture or livestock feed when properly cured. [6] It is most palatable in spring and early summer, but livestock may need time to adjust to the bitter taste of coumarin in the plant. Prior to World War II, before the common use of commercial agricultural fertilizers, the plant was commonly used as a cover crop to increase nitrogen content and improve subsoil water capacity in poor soils. [3] It is the most drought-tolerant of the commercially available legumes. [7] Sweet clover is a major source of nectar for domestic honey bees as hives near sweetclover can yield up to 200 pounds of honey in a year. [3]
Sweetclover has been used as a phytoremediation—phytodegradation plant for treatment of soils contaminated with dioxins. [8]
In the chemical industry, dicoumarol is extracted from the plant to produce rodenticides. [3]
When M. officinalis is invasive, it can be managed by mulching, hand-pulling, mowing, or herbicide applications such (e.g., 2,4-D) before flowering. Prescribed burns in late fall or early spring followed by another burn in late spring can reduce the number of plants before seed set. [2]
The honey locust, also known as the thorny locust or thorny honeylocust, is a deciduous tree in the family Fabaceae, native to central North America where it is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys. Honey locust is highly adaptable to different environments, has been introduced worldwide, and can be an aggressive, invasive species outside of its native range.
Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus Prosopis, which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under ground. As a legume, mesquites are one of the few sources of fixed nitrogen in the desert habitat. The trees bloom from spring to summer. They often produce fruits known as "pods". Prosopis spp. are able to grow up to 8 metres (26 ft) tall, depending on site and climate. They are deciduous and depending on location and rainfall have either deep or shallow roots. Prosopis is considered long-lived because of the low mortality rate after the dicotyledonous stage and juveniles are also able to survive in conditions with low light and drought. The Cahuilla indigenous people of western North America were known to eat the seeds of mesquite.
In agriculture, cover crops are plants that are planted to cover the soil rather than for the purpose of being harvested. Cover crops manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife in an agroecosystem—an ecological system managed and shaped by humans. Cover crops can increase microbial activity in the soil, which has a positive effect on nitrogen availability, nitrogen uptake in target crops, and crop yields. Cover crops may be an off-season crop planted after harvesting the cash crop. Cover crops are nurse crops in that they increase the survival of the main crop being harvested, and are often grown over the winter. In the United States, cover cropping may cost as much as $35 per acre.
Trifolium repens, the white clover, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae. It is native to Europe, including the British Isles, and central Asia and is one of the most widely cultivated types of clover. It has been widely introduced worldwide as a forage crop, and is now also common in most grassy areas of North America, Australia and New Zealand. The species includes varieties often classed as small, intermediate and large, according to height, which reflects petiole length. The term 'white clover' is applied to the species in general, 'Dutch clover' is often applied to intermediate varieties, and 'ladino clover' is applied to large varieties.
Coumarin or 2H-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula C9H6O2. Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by an unsaturated lactone ring −(CH)=(CH)−(C=O)−O−, forming a second six-membered heterocycle that shares two carbons with the benzene ring. It belongs to the benzopyrone chemical class and considered as a lactone.
Vigna aconitifolia is a drought-resistant legume, commonly grown in arid and semi-arid regions of India. It is commonly called mat bean, moth bean, matki or dew bean. The pods, sprouts and protein-rich seeds of this crop are commonly consumed in India. Moth bean can be grown on many soil types, and can also act as a pasture legume.
Trifolium pratense, red clover, is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwest Africa, but planted and naturalized in many other regions.
Trifolium arvense, commonly known as the hare's-foot clover, rabbitfoot clover, stone clover or oldfield clover, is a flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae. This species of clover is native to most of Europe, excluding the Arctic zone, and western Asia, in plain or mid-mountain habitats up to 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) altitude. It grows in dry sandy soils, both acidic and alkaline, soil with dry-mesic conditions and is typically found at the edge of fields, in wastelands, at the side of roads, on sand dunes, and opportunistically in vineyards and orchards when they are not irrigated.
Melilotus, known as melilot, sweet clover, and kumoniga, is a genus in the family Fabaceae. Members are known as common grassland plants and as weeds of cultivated ground. Originally from Europe and Asia, it is now found worldwide.
Melilotus albus, known as honey clover, white melilot (UK), Bokhara clover (Australia), white sweetclover (US), and sweet clover, is a nitrogen-fixing legume in the family Fabaceae. Melilotus albus is considered a valuable honey plant and source of nectar and is often grown for forage. Its characteristic sweet odor, intensified by drying, is derived from coumarin.
Medicago lupulina, commonly known as black medick, nonesuch, or hop clover, is a plant of dry grassland belonging to the legume or clover family. Plants of the genus Medicago, or bur clovers, are closely related to the true clovers (Trifolium) and sweet clover (Melilotus). Like the true clovers, black medick has three leaflets and a small, yellow flower closely resembling those of lesser trefoil. Black medick belongs to the same genus as alfalfa.
Melilotus indicus, sometimes incorrectly written Melilotus indica, is a yellow-flowered herb native to northern Africa, Europe and Asia, but naturalized throughout the rest of the world.
Podalyria calyptrata is a small, resilient, fast-growing tree of the Fabaceae (legume) family. It has velvety silver leaves, bears masses of bright-pink, sweetly scented flowers, and is indigenous to the Western Cape, South Africa.
Astragalus cicer, the chickpea milkvetch, chick-pea milk-vetch or cicer milkvetch, is a perennial flowering plant native to Eastern Europe, popularized and subsequently transported to areas in Southern Europe, North America, and South America. It produces pods that resemble those of chickpeas. Its flowers are usually of pale yellow tint, and attract bumble or European honey bees for pollination. Growth often exceeds 0.6 meters, up to a height of 1 meter in length.
Leucaena retusa is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names littleleaf leadtree, goldenball leadtree, wahoo tree, and lemonball. It is native to Chihuahua and Coahuila in Mexico and Texas in the United States. It also occurs in New Mexico.
Astragalus ripleyi is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Ripley's milkvetch. It is native to southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States.
Cirsium perplexans is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names Rocky Mountain thistle and Adobe Hills thistle. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it occurs in the Colorado and Gunnison River Valleys in the Rocky Mountains.
Galega orientalis is a species of flowering plant in the Fabaceae, the legume family. It is known commonly as fodder galega and eastern galega. It is cultivated as a fodder and forage for livestock.
Alysicarpus vaginalis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to parts of Africa and Asia, and it has been introduced to other continents, such as Australia and the Americas. It is cultivated as a fodder for livestock, for erosion control, and as a green manure. Common names include alyce clover, buffalo clover, buffalo-bur, one-leaf clover, and white moneywort.
Melilotus elegans, the elegant sweetclover, is a species of annual herb in the family Fabaceae. They have a self-supporting growth form. Individuals can grow to 0.39 m.
