Melilotus officinalis(L.) Pall. - Yellow melilot
Scientific Description:
Plant 40−250 cm. Stipules of lower leaves entire. Racemes 4−10 cm, longer than subtending leaves. Corolla 5.5−7 mm, yellow, wings, keel and standard subequal. Legume 3−5 mm, transversely striate.
Flowering time: May−September.
Habitat: Disturbed ground, s.l.−1750 m.
Reference:
Chamberlain DF (1970). Melilotus officinalis (L) Desr., In: Davis PH (ed.) Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 3: 450.
Public Description:
Mellilotus officinalis, common name “yellow melilot”, is native to Eurasia and introduced in North America, Africa and Australia. It can be an annual or biennial plant, and is up to 2.5 m high at maturity. Sweetclover can be used as pasture or livestock feed. But it contains coumarin that converts to dicoumarol, which is a powerful anticoagulant toxin, when the plant becomes moldy. This can lead to internal bleeding diseases and death in cattle. 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. Yellow melilot is a major source of nectar for domestic honey bees.
References:
Anonymous 1 (2016). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melilotus_officinalis /, Accessed date: 12.02.2016.
Anonymous 2 (2016). http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Melilotus+officinalis /, Accessed date: 12.02.2016.
Keskin M (2012). Melilotus L., In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 477−478.