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melilots and sweetclovers
Melilotus
Melilotus, known as melilot or sweet clover is a genus of legumes in the family Fabaceae, native to Europe, Asia, and Africa. The genus is closely related to Trifolium (clovers). Several species are common grassland plants and weeds of cultivated ground, and some species are now found worldwide as naturalised plants.
The scientific and English names both derive from Greek melílōtos from méli (honey), and lōtos (lotus), via Latin melilōtos and Old French mélilot. The alternative name "sweet clover" varies in orthography, also cited as sweet-clover and sweetclover. Other names include "kumoniga", from the Cumans.
25 branches of this genus, most-observed first
White Sweetclover
speciesMelilotus albus
Yellow Sweetclover
speciesMelilotus officinalis
small melilot
speciesMelilotus indicus
tall melilot
speciesMelilotus altissimus
common yellow melilot
speciesMelilotus suaveolens
Neapolitan melilot
speciesMelilotus neapolitanus
furrowed melilot
speciesMelilotus sulcatus
corn melilot
speciesMelilotus segetalis
Melilotus dentatus
speciesMelilotus dentatus
Italian melilot
speciesMelilotus italicus
Crimean melilot
speciesMelilotus tauricus
Sicilian melilot
speciesMelilotus messanensis
Russian melilot
speciesMelilotus wolgicus
elegant melilot
speciesMelilotus elegans
Polish melilot
speciesMelilotus polonicus
Melilotus hirsutus
speciesMelilotus hirsutus
Melilotus bicolor
speciesMelilotus bicolor
Round- fruited Melilot
speciesMelilotus infestus
Melilotus speciosus
speciesMelilotus speciosus
Melilotus serratifolius
speciesMelilotus serratifolius
Melilotus gorkemii
speciesMelilotus gorkemii
Melilotus arenarius
speciesMelilotus arenarius
Melilotus macrocarpus
speciesMelilotus macrocarpus
Melilotus × haussknechtianus
hybridMelilotus × haussknechtianus
Melilotus × schoenheitianus
hybridMelilotus × schoenheitianus
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
Latin Herbal with German Synonyms
1484 · p.215
De medicinali materia libri sex
Dioscorides · 1552 · p.407
Latin Herbal
1484 · p.187
Herbarius
1485 · p.188
Herbarius latinus (with French synonyms)
1486 · p.189
Herbarius latinus (with Dutch synonyms)
1486 · p.185
Latin Herbal with German Synonyms
1486 · p.188
Garden of Health
1507 · p.210
Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants
Leonhart Fuchs · 1542 · p.561
Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants
Leonhart Fuchs · 1542 · p.562
Book of Herbs
Hieronymus Bock (Tragus) · 1546 · p.484
Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants
Leonhart Fuchs · 1549 · p.559
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Melilotus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 57067.