Melilotus officinalis

Sweet meliot, sweetclover                                                                              Μέλιλωτος


Fabaceae - pea family                                                                                                Dicot.

 
 
 

Melilotus officinalis, sweetclover is native to Eurasia but is widely planted in N. America, Africa and Australia as a fodder plant, as a nitrogen fixing plant, it adds nutrition to pastures and hay. The dried plants give off the pleasant odour of hay but can be poisonous as they contain coumarin, a blood clotting inhibitor. It is one of many spring plant in Skopelos, completing its life cycle before the onset of summer drought.

 
 
3-5mm, ↨ 20-40cm                                                                                                        JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
 

Melilotus - sweet lotus from meli (μέλι) - Greek for honey

+ lotus (λωτός) ancient Greek name for a variety of unrelated plants

Officinalis - litererally official - usually applied to medicinal species, in this case the one planted for fodder

Melilotus indica Indian sweetcloverMelilotus_indicus.html
Ononis pusilla Ononis_pusilla.html