Index / Search / Melilotus officinalis
§1 Plant
Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam.
vernacular sweetclover — species · Fabaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Duration
- Annual, Biennial, Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Fabaceae Lindl.
- Genus
- Melilotus
§2a
Native status, by region
- AK Alaska Introduced
- CAN Canada Introduced
- GL Greenland Introduced
- HI Hawaii Introduced
- L48 Lower 48 States Introduced
- PB Pacific Basin (except Hawaii) Introduced
- PR Puerto Rico Introduced
- SPM St. Pierre & Miquelon Introduced
§2b
County-level range
· 997 counties across 27 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- High
- Shade
- High
- Moisture use
- Medium
- Fire
- High
- Salinity
- High
- Anaerobic
- Low
- CaCO₃
- High
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -38 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 110 min.
- Precipitation
- 17–60 in/yr
- pH range
- 6.5–8
- Root depth
- 16 in min.
- Fertility need
- High
- Soil texture
- medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Single Crown
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Lifespan
- Short
- Mature height
- 5 ft
- Foliage texture
- Coarse
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Porous
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- White
- Fruit colour
- Yellow
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- Medium
- Toxicity
- Moderate
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Summer
- Seed abundance
- High
- Seed begins
- Summer
- Seed ends
- Fall
- Spread rate
- Rapid
- Stratify
- No
- Seeds / lb
- 258,560
- Propagation
- seed
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- Low
- Graze palatability
- Medium
- Palatable, human
- No
- Protein potential
- High
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 997 counties across 27 states/territories.
Alabama view state ↗ 6 I ▾
Alaska view state ↗ 7 I ▾
Arizona view state ↗ 11 I ▾
Arkansas view state ↗ 44 I ▾
- Ashley 05003
- Baxter 05005
- Benton 05007
- Carroll 05015
- Clark 05019
- Clay 05021
- Cleburne 05023
- Conway 05029
- Craighead 05031
- Crawford 05033
- Crittenden 05035
- Faulkner 05045
- Franklin 05047
- Fulton 05049
- Grant 05053
- Hempstead 05057
- Independence 05063
- Izard 05065
- Jefferson 05069
- Lafayette 05073
- Lawrence 05075
- Lee 05077
- Little River 05081
- Logan 05083
- Madison 05087
- Marion 05089
- Mississippi 05093
- Montgomery 05097
- Newton 05101
- Perry 05105
- Phillips 05107
- Poinsett 05111
- Pope 05115
- Prairie 05117
- Pulaski 05119
- Randolph 05121
- Searcy 05129
- Sevier 05133
- Sharp 05135
- St. Francis 05123
- Stone 05137
- Union 05139
- Van Buren 05141
- Washington 05143
Delaware view state ↗ 1 I ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 I ▾
Florida view state ↗ 41 I ▾
- Alachua 12001
- Bradford 12007
- Citrus 12017
- Clay 12019
- Columbia 12023
- Duval 12031
- Escambia 12033
- Franklin 12037
- Gadsden 12039
- Gulf 12045
- Hardee 12049
- Hendry 12051
- Hernando 12053
- Highlands 12055
- Hillsborough 12057
- Jackson 12063
- Jefferson 12065
- Lafayette 12067
- Lake 12069
- Lee 12071
- Leon 12073
- Levy 12075
- Manatee 12081
- Marion 12083
- Martin 12085
- Miami-Dade 12086
- Monroe 12087
- Nassau 12089
- Okeechobee 12093
- Orange 12095
- Osceola 12097
- Pasco 12101
- Pinellas 12103
- Putnam 12107
- Sarasota 12115
- Seminole 12117
- St. Johns 12109
- Sumter 12119
- Taylor 12123
- Union 12125
- Volusia 12127
Georgia view state ↗ 20 I ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 102 I ▾
- Adams 17001
- Alexander 17003
- Bond 17005
- Boone 17007
- Brown 17009
- Bureau 17011
- Calhoun 17013
- Carroll 17015
- Cass 17017
- Champaign 17019
- Christian 17021
- Clark 17023
- Clay 17025
- Clinton 17027
- Coles 17029
- Cook 17031
- Crawford 17033
- Cumberland 17035
- De Witt 17039
- DeKalb 17037
- Douglas 17041
- DuPage 17043
- Edgar 17045
- Edwards 17047
- Effingham 17049
- Fayette 17051
- Ford 17053
- Franklin 17055
- Fulton 17057
- Gallatin 17059
- Greene 17061
- Grundy 17063
- Hamilton 17065
- Hancock 17067
- Hardin 17069
- Henderson 17071
- Henry 17073
- Iroquois 17075
- Jackson 17077
- Jasper 17079
- Jefferson 17081
- Jersey 17083
- Jo Daviess 17085
- Johnson 17087
- Kane 17089
- Kankakee 17091
- Kendall 17093
- Knox 17095
- Lake 17097
- LaSalle 17099
- Lawrence 17101
- Lee 17103
- Livingston 17105
- Logan 17107
- Macon 17115
- Macoupin 17117
- Madison 17119
- Marion 17121
- Marshall 17123
- Mason 17125
- Massac 17127
- McDonough 17109
- McHenry 17111
- McLean 17113
- Menard 17129
- Mercer 17131
- Monroe 17133
- Montgomery 17135
- Morgan 17137
- Moultrie 17139
- Ogle 17141
- Peoria 17143
- Perry 17145
- Piatt 17147
- Pike 17149
- Pope 17151
- Pulaski 17153
- Putnam 17155
- Randolph 17157
- Richland 17159
- Rock Island 17161
- Saline 17165
- Sangamon 17167
- Schuyler 17169
- Scott 17171
- Shelby 17173
- St. Clair 17163
- Stark 17175
- Stephenson 17177
- Tazewell 17179
- Union 17181
- Vermilion 17183
- Wabash 17185
- Warren 17187
- Washington 17189
- Wayne 17191
- White 17193
- Whiteside 17195
- Will 17197
- Williamson 17199
- Winnebago 17201
- Woodford 17203
Indiana view state ↗ 79 I ▾
- Allen 18003
- Benton 18007
- Blackford 18009
- Boone 18011
- Brown 18013
- Cass 18017
- Clark 18019
- Clay 18021
- Clinton 18023
- Crawford 18025
- Daviess 18027
- Dearborn 18029
- Decatur 18031
- Delaware 18035
- Elkhart 18039
- Fayette 18041
- Floyd 18043
- Fountain 18045
- Franklin 18047
- Gibson 18051
- Grant 18053
- Greene 18055
- Hamilton 18057
- Hancock 18059
- Harrison 18061
- Hendricks 18063
- Henry 18065
- Howard 18067
- Huntington 18069
- Jackson 18071
- Jasper 18073
- Jefferson 18077
- Jennings 18079
- Johnson 18081
- Knox 18083
- Kosciusko 18085
- Lagrange 18087
- Lake 18089
- LaPorte 18091
- Lawrence 18093
- Madison 18095
- Marion 18097
- Martin 18101
- Monroe 18105
- Montgomery 18107
- Morgan 18109
- Newton 18111
- Noble 18113
- Ohio 18115
- Orange 18117
- Owen 18119
- Parke 18121
- Porter 18127
- Posey 18129
- Pulaski 18131
- Putnam 18133
- Randolph 18135
- Ripley 18137
- Rush 18139
- Shelby 18145
- Spencer 18147
- St. Joseph 18141
- Starke 18149
- Steuben 18151
- Sullivan 18153
- Switzerland 18155
- Tippecanoe 18157
- Tipton 18159
- Union 18161
- Vanderburgh 18163
- Vermillion 18165
- Vigo 18167
- Wabash 18169
- Warren 18171
- Washington 18175
- Wayne 18177
- Wells 18179
- White 18181
- Whitley 18183
Kentucky view state ↗ 87 I ▾
- Adair 21001
- Allen 21003
- Anderson 21005
- Barren 21009
- Bath 21011
- Bell 21013
- Bourbon 21017
- Bracken 21023
- Breathitt 21025
- Breckinridge 21027
- Bullitt 21029
- Butler 21031
- Caldwell 21033
- Calloway 21035
- Campbell 21037
- Carlisle 21039
- Casey 21045
- Christian 21047
- Clark 21049
- Clay 21051
- Clinton 21053
- Crittenden 21055
- Cumberland 21057
- Daviess 21059
- Edmonson 21061
- Elliott 21063
- Estill 21065
- Fayette 21067
- Fleming 21069
- Floyd 21071
- Franklin 21073
- Fulton 21075
- Gallatin 21077
- Garrard 21079
- Graves 21083
- Grayson 21085
- Hardin 21093
- Harrison 21097
- Hart 21099
- Henry 21103
- Hickman 21105
- Hopkins 21107
- Jackson 21109
- Jefferson 21111
- Jessamine 21113
- Kenton 21117
- Laurel 21125
- Lawrence 21127
- Lee 21129
- Letcher 21133
- Lewis 21135
- Lincoln 21137
- Livingston 21139
- Logan 21141
- Madison 21151
- Mason 21161
- McCracken 21145
- McLean 21149
- Meade 21163
- Menifee 21165
- Mercer 21167
- Metcalfe 21169
- Montgomery 21173
- Morgan 21175
- Muhlenberg 21177
- Nelson 21179
- Ohio 21183
- Oldham 21185
- Owen 21187
- Pendleton 21191
- Powell 21197
- Robertson 21201
- Rockcastle 21203
- Rowan 21205
- Russell 21207
- Shelby 21211
- Spencer 21215
- Todd 21219
- Trigg 21221
- Trimble 21223
- Union 21225
- Warren 21227
- Washington 21229
- Wayne 21231
- Webster 21233
- Wolfe 21237
- Woodford 21239
Louisiana view state ↗ 49 I ▾
- Acadia 22001
- Allen 22003
- Ascension 22005
- Avoyelles 22009
- Beauregard 22011
- Bienville 22013
- Bossier 22015
- Caddo 22017
- Calcasieu 22019
- Caldwell 22021
- Cameron 22023
- Catahoula 22025
- Claiborne 22027
- Concordia 22029
- East Baton Rouge 22033
- East Carroll 22035
- Franklin 22041
- Grant 22043
- Iberia 22045
- Jackson 22049
- Jefferson 22051
- Jefferson Davis 22053
- Lafayette 22055
- Lafourche 22057
- LaSalle 22059
- Lincoln 22061
- Madison 22065
- Morehouse 22067
- Natchitoches 22069
- Orleans 22071
- Ouachita 22073
- Pointe Coupee 22077
- Rapides 22079
- Red River 22081
- Richland 22083
- Sabine 22085
- St. Charles 22089
- St. James 22093
- St. John the Baptist 22095
- St. Landry 22097
- St. Mary 22101
- St. Tammany 22103
- Tangipahoa 22105
- Tensas 22107
- Terrebonne 22109
- Union 22111
- Vernon 22115
- Washington 22117
- Winn 22127
Maine view state ↗ 13 I ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 14 I ▾
Mississippi view state ↗ 30 I ▾
- Alcorn 28003
- Chickasaw 28017
- Clarke 28023
- Clay 28025
- Coahoma 28027
- DeSoto 28033
- Forrest 28035
- Harrison 28047
- Itawamba 28057
- Jackson 28059
- Jasper 28061
- Kemper 28069
- Lafayette 28071
- Lauderdale 28075
- Lee 28081
- Leflore 28083
- Madison 28089
- Marshall 28093
- Noxubee 28103
- Pontotoc 28115
- Prentiss 28117
- Rankin 28121
- Scott 28123
- Smith 28129
- Tate 28137
- Tippah 28139
- Tishomingo 28141
- Tunica 28143
- Union 28145
- Washington 28151
Montana view state ↗ 48 I ▾
- Beaverhead 30001
- Big Horn 30003
- Blaine 30005
- Broadwater 30007
- Carter 30011
- Cascade 30013
- Chouteau 30015
- Custer 30017
- Daniels 30019
- Dawson 30021
- Deer Lodge 30023
- Fergus 30027
- Flathead 30029
- Gallatin 30031
- Glacier 30035
- Golden Valley 30037
- Hill 30041
- Jefferson 30043
- Judith Basin 30045
- Lake 30047
- Lewis and Clark 30049
- Liberty 30051
- Lincoln 30053
- Madison 30057
- McCone 30055
- Meagher 30059
- Mineral 30061
- Missoula 30063
- Musselshell 30065
- Park 30067
- Petroleum 30069
- Phillips 30071
- Pondera 30073
- Powder River 30075
- Powell 30077
- Prairie 30079
- Ravalli 30081
- Richland 30083
- Sanders 30089
- Sheridan 30091
- Silver Bow 30093
- Stillwater 30095
- Sweet Grass 30097
- Teton 30099
- Toole 30101
- Valley 30105
- Wibaux 30109
- Yellowstone 30111
New Hampshire view state ↗ 9 I ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 17 I ▾
New York view state ↗ 43 I ▾
- Albany 36001
- Allegany 36003
- Bronx 36005
- Broome 36007
- Cattaraugus 36009
- Cayuga 36011
- Chautauqua 36013
- Chemung 36015
- Chenango 36017
- Clinton 36019
- Columbia 36021
- Delaware 36025
- Dutchess 36027
- Erie 36029
- Essex 36031
- Jefferson 36045
- Kings 36047
- Lewis 36049
- Livingston 36051
- Madison 36053
- Monroe 36055
- Nassau 36059
- New York 36061
- Oneida 36065
- Onondaga 36067
- Orange 36071
- Oswego 36075
- Otsego 36077
- Putnam 36079
- Queens 36081
- Rensselaer 36083
- Richmond 36085
- Rockland 36087
- Schenectady 36093
- Suffolk 36103
- Sullivan 36105
- Tioga 36107
- Tompkins 36109
- Ulster 36111
- Warren 36113
- Washington 36115
- Wayne 36117
- Westchester 36119
North Carolina view state ↗ 69 I ▾
- Alexander 37003
- Ashe 37009
- Avery 37011
- Beaufort 37013
- Bertie 37015
- Brunswick 37019
- Buncombe 37021
- Burke 37023
- Cabarrus 37025
- Caldwell 37027
- Carteret 37031
- Caswell 37033
- Catawba 37035
- Cherokee 37039
- Chowan 37041
- Clay 37043
- Cleveland 37045
- Craven 37049
- Currituck 37053
- Dare 37055
- Davidson 37057
- Durham 37063
- Edgecombe 37065
- Forsyth 37067
- Franklin 37069
- Gaston 37071
- Graham 37075
- Granville 37077
- Greene 37079
- Guilford 37081
- Halifax 37083
- Harnett 37085
- Haywood 37087
- Henderson 37089
- Hyde 37095
- Iredell 37097
- Jackson 37099
- Lee 37105
- Lenoir 37107
- Lincoln 37109
- Madison 37115
- Martin 37117
- McDowell 37111
- Mecklenburg 37119
- Mitchell 37121
- Nash 37127
- New Hanover 37129
- Northampton 37131
- Orange 37135
- Pender 37141
- Person 37145
- Pitt 37147
- Polk 37149
- Robeson 37155
- Rockingham 37157
- Rowan 37159
- Stanly 37167
- Stokes 37169
- Surry 37171
- Swain 37173
- Union 37179
- Vance 37181
- Wake 37183
- Washington 37187
- Watauga 37189
- Wayne 37191
- Wilkes 37193
- Wilson 37195
- Yancey 37199
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 67 I ▾
- Adams 42001
- Allegheny 42003
- Armstrong 42005
- Beaver 42007
- Bedford 42009
- Berks 42011
- Blair 42013
- Bradford 42015
- Bucks 42017
- Butler 42019
- Cambria 42021
- Cameron 42023
- Carbon 42025
- Centre 42027
- Chester 42029
- Clarion 42031
- Clearfield 42033
- Clinton 42035
- Columbia 42037
- Crawford 42039
- Cumberland 42041
- Dauphin 42043
- Delaware 42045
- Elk 42047
- Erie 42049
- Fayette 42051
- Forest 42053
- Franklin 42055
- Fulton 42057
- Greene 42059
- Huntingdon 42061
- Indiana 42063
- Jefferson 42065
- Juniata 42067
- Lackawanna 42069
- Lancaster 42071
- Lawrence 42073
- Lebanon 42075
- Lehigh 42077
- Luzerne 42079
- Lycoming 42081
- McKean 42083
- Mercer 42085
- Mifflin 42087
- Monroe 42089
- Montgomery 42091
- Montour 42093
- Northampton 42095
- Northumberland 42097
- Perry 42099
- Philadelphia 42101
- Pike 42103
- Potter 42105
- Schuylkill 42107
- Snyder 42109
- Somerset 42111
- Sullivan 42113
- Susquehanna 42115
- Tioga 42117
- Union 42119
- Venango 42121
- Warren 42123
- Washington 42125
- Wayne 42127
- Westmoreland 42129
- Wyoming 42131
- York 42133
Rhode Island view state ↗ 4 I ▾
South Carolina view state ↗ 26 I ▾
- Abbeville 45001
- Aiken 45003
- Anderson 45007
- Berkeley 45015
- Charleston 45019
- Cherokee 45021
- Chester 45023
- Colleton 45029
- Darlington 45031
- Edgefield 45037
- Fairfield 45039
- Georgetown 45043
- Greenville 45045
- Greenwood 45047
- Horry 45051
- Kershaw 45055
- Laurens 45059
- Lexington 45063
- McCormick 45065
- Newberry 45071
- Oconee 45073
- Orangeburg 45075
- Pickens 45077
- Spartanburg 45083
- Union 45087
- York 45091
Tennessee view state ↗ 46 I ▾
- Anderson 47001
- Blount 47009
- Cannon 47015
- Carter 47019
- Cheatham 47021
- Claiborne 47025
- Clay 47027
- Cumberland 47035
- Davidson 47037
- Decatur 47039
- DeKalb 47041
- Dickson 47043
- Dyer 47045
- Fentress 47049
- Franklin 47051
- Grainger 47057
- Greene 47059
- Grundy 47061
- Hardin 47071
- Hawkins 47073
- Haywood 47075
- Houston 47083
- Knox 47093
- Lewis 47101
- Loudon 47105
- Madison 47113
- Marshall 47117
- Maury 47119
- McMinn 47107
- McNairy 47109
- Montgomery 47125
- Morgan 47129
- Roane 47145
- Robertson 47147
- Rutherford 47149
- Sevier 47155
- Shelby 47157
- Stewart 47161
- Sullivan 47163
- Sumner 47165
- Tipton 47167
- Trousdale 47169
- Unicoi 47171
- Washington 47179
- Williamson 47187
- Wilson 47189
Vermont view state ↗ 14 I ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 100 I ▾
- Accomack 51001
- Albemarle 51003
- Alleghany 51005
- Amelia 51007
- Amherst 51009
- Appomattox 51011
- Arlington 51013
- Augusta 51015
- Bath 51017
- Bedford 51019
- Bland 51021
- Botetourt 51023
- Brunswick 51025
- Buchanan 51027
- Buckingham 51029
- Campbell 51031
- Caroline 51033
- Carroll 51035
- Charles City 51036
- Charlotte 51037
- Chesapeake (city) 51550
- Chesterfield 51041
- Clarke 51043
- Craig 51045
- Culpeper 51047
- Cumberland 51049
- Dickenson 51051
- Dinwiddie 51053
- Essex 51057
- Fairfax 51059
- Fauquier 51061
- Floyd 51063
- Fluvanna 51065
- Franklin 51067
- Frederick 51069
- Giles 51071
- Gloucester 51073
- Goochland 51075
- Grayson 51077
- Greene 51079
- Greensville 51081
- Halifax 51083
- Hampton (city) 51650
- Hanover 51085
- Henrico 51087
- Henry 51089
- Highland 51091
- Isle of Wight 51093
- James City 51095
- King and Queen 51097
- King George 51099
- King William 51101
- Lancaster 51103
- Lee 51105
- Loudoun 51107
- Louisa 51109
- Lunenburg 51111
- Madison 51113
- Mathews 51115
- Mecklenburg 51117
- Middlesex 51119
- Montgomery 51121
- Nelson 51125
- New Kent 51127
- Newport News (city) 51700
- Northampton 51131
- Northumberland 51133
- Nottoway 51135
- Orange 51137
- Page 51139
- Patrick 51141
- Pittsylvania 51143
- Powhatan 51145
- Prince Edward 51147
- Prince George 51149
- Prince William 51153
- Pulaski 51155
- Rappahannock 51157
- Richmond 51159
- Roanoke 51161
- Rockbridge 51163
- Rockingham 51165
- Russell 51167
- Scott 51169
- Shenandoah 51171
- Smyth 51173
- Southampton 51175
- Spotsylvania 51177
- Stafford 51179
- Suffolk (city) 51800
- Surry 51181
- Sussex 51183
- Tazewell 51185
- Virginia Beach (city) 51810
- Warren 51187
- Washington 51191
- Westmoreland 51193
- Wise 51195
- Wythe 51197
- York 51199
West Virginia view state ↗ 49 I ▾
- Barbour 54001
- Berkeley 54003
- Boone 54005
- Braxton 54007
- Brooke 54009
- Cabell 54011
- Calhoun 54013
- Doddridge 54017
- Fayette 54019
- Gilmer 54021
- Grant 54023
- Greenbrier 54025
- Hampshire 54027
- Hancock 54029
- Hardy 54031
- Harrison 54033
- Jackson 54035
- Jefferson 54037
- Kanawha 54039
- Lincoln 54043
- Logan 54045
- Marion 54049
- Marshall 54051
- Mason 54053
- McDowell 54047
- Mercer 54055
- Mineral 54057
- Monongalia 54061
- Monroe 54063
- Morgan 54065
- Nicholas 54067
- Ohio 54069
- Pendleton 54071
- Pocahontas 54075
- Preston 54077
- Raleigh 54081
- Randolph 54083
- Ritchie 54085
- Roane 54087
- Summers 54089
- Taylor 54091
- Tucker 54093
- Tyler 54095
- Upshur 54097
- Wayne 54099
- Wetzel 54103
- Wirt 54105
- Wood 54107
- Wyoming 54109
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/MEOF ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/8193111 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T06:33:17Z