Yellow Sweet Clover

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Detailed Information

Flower:

Flowers are clustered in spike-like racemes up to 8 inches long on stems that arise from a leaf axil. Individual flowers are about ¼ inch across, with 5 parts in a typical shape for a member of the Pea family. Large plants can take on a bushy appearance with numerous clusters of yellow or white flowers. Small plants may have only a few sparsely arranged branches.

Leaves:

Leaves are compound in groups of 3. Leaflets are ½ to 1 inch long, ¼ to ½ inch across, with small teeth around the edges and a rounded tip. The shape can be oval or elliptical, or tapering to a narrow base with the widest point in the tip half of the leaf. The color may be somewhat blue-green or gray-green.

Notes:

Yellow Sweet Clover is on the noxious weed list for Minnesota and an invasive species. White Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba) was once classified as a separate species, but is now considered a variety of Yellow Sweet Clover. Yellow Sweet Cover starts blooming a couple weeks earlier, but except for the flower color is otherwise virtually identical.

More photos

• Yellow Sweet Clover plant, about 4 feet tall
• White Sweet Clover flowers
• White Sweet Clover plant, about 5 feet tall

More yellow wildflowers. Photos taken at Long Lake Regional Park, New Brighton, MN, June-July 2006 and 2007

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Ramsey County, or have any other comments about it?