Melilotus

 
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Leguminosae

Author: Dr.John Frame
Melilotus spp. are mainly but not exclusively cultivated in the central belt of North America, from Manitoba/Saskatchewan south to Texas though their use has declined in recent years. The most commonly grown species are the biennials M. alba Medik and M. officinalis (L.) Lam. (Smith and Gorz, 1965; Miller and Hoveland, 1995).

Listed species in the U.S. PLANTS database (2000), together with their European names are :

Scientific name                     Common name                           European name

M. alba Medikus                  White sweetclover                      White melilot

M. altissima Thuill Tall         Yellow sweetclover                      Tall melilot

M. altissimus Thuill

M. indicus (L.) All.                Annual yellow sweetclover           Small melilot

M. neapolitanus Ten.            European sweetclover

M. officinalis (L.) Lam.        Yellow sweetclover                      Ribbed melilot

M. suaveolens Ledeb.           Sweetclover

M. sulcatus Desf.                  Mediterranean sweetclover           Furrowed melilot

(Note : annual yellow sweetclover [above] was referred to as King Island melilot or sour clover in Australia where it was introduced and used in dairy pastures in King Island, near Tasmania, almost a century ago).

The following refers to biennial white sweetclover as representative of the genus but with some reference to other sweetclovers; particularly biennial yellow sweetclover.

Links

Main references

Miller D.A. and Hoveland C.S.(1995); Smith W.K. and Gorz H.J. (1965)

Other references

McEwen J. and Johnston A.E. (1985); Panciera M.T. and Sparrow S.D. (1995); Plants Database 2000; Sparrow S.D. et al.(1993); Wivstad M. (1997); Zimmermann L.R. et al.(1998)