Plant Name
Scientific Name: Melilotus indicus
Synonym: Melilotus indica
Common Names: Annual Yellow Sweetclover, Annual Yellow Sweet Clover
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized weed is native to southwestern Europe, the Mediterranean region, and eastward to India.
Habitat: Desert, Upland, Riparian
Flower Color: Yellow
Flowering Season: Spring, Summer, Fall (early)
Height: To 3 feet (91 cm) tall
Description: The small flowers are in narrow, elongated racemes. The individual flowers are pea-like and only 3 mm long. The leaves are green, alternate, and have 3 sharply-toothed, oblanceolate leaflets with blunt or indented tips.
The similar Yellow Sweetclover (Melilotus officinalis) has point-tipped leaflets and larger flowers that are usually twice as long.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae – Pea family
Genus: Melilotus Mill. – sweetclover
Species: Melilotus indicus (L.) All. – annual yellow sweetclover
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