International Livestock Research Institute

Welcome!


Taxon:  Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam.



Summary
Genus:
Melilotus
Family:
Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)
Subfamily:
Faboideae
Tribe:
Trifolieae
Nomen number:
24009
Place of publication:
Fl. franç. 2:594. 1779 ("1778") (Pallas, Reise russ. reich. 3:537. 1776, nom. nud.)
Comment:
Trifolium M. officinale L. was not cited by Lamarck, although he cited T. M. vars. for other species such as Melilotus italicus and M. ornithopodioides, but Shenzhen ICN 41.4 allows treatment as a new combination
Verified:
01/14/2004 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
8 (8  active, 6  available) in National Plant Germplasm System.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Basionym
Trifolium officinale L.

Autonym(s)
Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam. subsp. officinalis
Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam. var. officinalis

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Melilotus arvensis Wallr.
Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam. var. micranthus O. E. Schulz
Melilotus vulgaris Hill, nom. inval.
No images


Reference(s)
  1. Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource). URL: http://www.agroatlas.ru/en/content/cultural/Melilotus_officinalis_K/
  2. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource) www.skud.info
  3. Campbell, F. T., ed. 1995. Report of National Coalition of Exotic Plant Pest Councils (unpublished draft)
  4. Cooper, M. R. & A. W. Johnson. 1998. Poisonous plants and fungi in Britain: animal and human poisoning Note: poisonous
  5. Craker, L. E. & J. E. Simon, eds. 1987. Herbs, spices, and medicinal plants, 2 vols. 2:208.
  6. Cronquist, A. et al. 1972-. Intermountain flora. Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.
  7. Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 145-146.
  8. Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands. Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Desr.
  9. Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
  10. Duke, J. A. 1981. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance
  11. Erhardt, W. et al. 2002. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 17. Auflage Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam.
  12. Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource). URL: http://www.emplantbase.org/home.html
  13. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource). URL: http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/cropListDetails?code=&relation=beginsWith&name=Melilotus+officinalis&quantity=1
  14. Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14
  15. Graham, E. H. 1941. Legumes for erosion control and wildlife. USDA Misc. Publ. 412.
  16. Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist. Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam.
  17. Inst. Bot. V. L. Komarova, Acad. Sci. URSS. 1963-. Plantae asiae centralis.
  18. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares. URL: http://www2.darwin.edu.ar/Proyectos/FloraArgentina/FA.asp
  19. Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource). URL: http://www.anbg.gov.au/common.names/
  20. Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
  21. Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Note: poisonous
  22. Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR. Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Desr.
  23. Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
  24. Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
  25. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.
  26. Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
  27. Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
  28. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
  29. Mun-Chan, B. et al. 1986. A checklist of the Korean cultivated plants. Kulturpflanze 34:110.
  30. Munro, D. B. Canadian poisonous plants information system (on-line resource). URL: http://www.cbif.gc.ca/pls/pp/poison?p_x=px
  31. Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan. Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.
  32. Personal Care Products Council. INCI URL: http://www.personalcarecouncil.org/public/what-inci
  33. Pignatti, S. 1982. Flora d'Italia. Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.
  34. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource). URL: http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Frontpage.html
  35. Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica. Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.
  36. Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
  37. Sales, F. & I. C. Hedge. 1993. Melilotus Miller (Leguminosae): typification and nomenclature. Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 51:173. URL: http://www.rjb.csic.es/jardinbotanico/jardin/index.php?Cab=112&SubCab=217&len=en&Pag=219 Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.
  38. Sell, P. & G. Murrell. 1996-. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland.
  39. Smythies, B. E. 1984-1986. Flora of Spain and the Balearic Islands: checklist of vascular plants. Englera 3:1-882. Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.
  40. Stace, C. 1995. New flora of the British Isles.
  41. Stevenson, G. A. 1969. An agronomic and taxonomic review of the genus Melilotus Mill. Canad. J. Pl. Sci. 49:8. Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam.
  42. Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq. Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.
  43. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea. Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.
  44. University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. UC SAREP on-line cover crop database (on-line resource). URL: http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/ccrop/
  45. Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
  46. Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
  47. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). URL: http://www.efloras.org/browse.aspx?flora_id=2
  48. Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.
  49. 2018. Mid-Atlantic invasive plant species (on-line resource)
Common names
English
common melilot –
field melilot –
ribbed melilot –
yellow melilot –
yellow sweet-clover –
yellow trefoil –
English (Canada)
yellow sweet-clover –
French
mélilot jaune –
mélilot officinal –
French (Canada)
mélilot jaune –
German
echter Steinklee –
gelber Steinklee –
Italian
meliloto giallo –
Japanese Rōmaji
seiyō-ebira-hagi –
Portuguese
trevo-cheiroso –
Spanish
cornilla real –
meliloto amarillo –
trébol de olor –
Swedish
gul sötväppling –
Transcribed Chinese
cao mu xi –
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusArmenia  
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusAzerbaijan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusGeorgia  
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusRussian FederationDagestan 
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusRussian Federation-CiscaucasiaCiscaucasia 
1NativeAsia-TemperateChinaChina w.
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaKazakhstan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaKyrgyzstan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaTajikistan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaTurkmenistan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaUzbekistan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateSiberiaRussian Federation-Eastern SiberiaEastern Siberia 
1NativeAsia-TemperateSiberiaRussian Federation-Western SiberiaWestern Siberia 
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaAfghanistan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIran  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIraq n.e.
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaTurkey  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndiaHimachal Pradesh 
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndiaJammu and Kashmir 
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentPakistan n.
1NativeEuropeEastern EuropeBelarus  
1NativeEuropeEastern EuropeEstonia  
1NativeEuropeEastern EuropeLatvia  
1NativeEuropeEastern EuropeLithuania  
1NativeEuropeEastern EuropeMoldova  
1NativeEuropeEastern EuropeRussian Federation-European partEuropean part 
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeAustria  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeBelgium  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeCzechoslovakia  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeGermany  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeHungary  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeNetherlands  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropePoland  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeSwitzerland  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeAlbania  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeBulgaria  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeFormer Yugoslavia  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeGreece  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeItaly incl. Sardinia
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeRomania  
1NativeEuropeSouthwestern EuropeFrance  
1NativeEuropeSouthwestern EuropeSpain incl. Baleares
2Cultivated    also cult.
4NaturalizedAfricaEast Tropical AfricaKenya  
4NaturalizedAfricaNorthern AfricaMorocco  
4NaturalizedAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaGauteng 
4NaturalizedAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaWestern Cape 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaJapan  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaLebanon  
4NaturalizedAustralasiaAustraliaAustralia  
4NaturalizedAustralasiaNew ZealandNew Zealand  
4NaturalizedEuropeNorthern EuropeDenmark  
4NaturalizedEuropeNorthern EuropeFinland  
4NaturalizedEuropeNorthern EuropeIreland  
4NaturalizedEuropeNorthern EuropeNorway  
4NaturalizedEuropeNorthern EuropeSweden  
4NaturalizedEuropeNorthern EuropeUnited Kingdom  
4NaturalizedNorthern America Canada  
4NaturalizedNorthern America United States  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaArgentina  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaChile  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaUruguay  
Native
Asia-Temperate
  • WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq (n.e.), Turkey
  • CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia], Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation [Dagestan]
  • SIBERIA: Russian Federation-Western Siberia [Western Siberia], Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia [Eastern Siberia]
  • MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
  • CHINA: China (w.)
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India [Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir], Pakistan (n.)
Europe
  • MIDDLE EUROPE: Czechoslovakia, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland
  • EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part], Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova
  • SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy (incl. Sardinia), Romania
  • SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain (incl. Baleares), France
Cultivated (also cult.)
Naturalized
Africa
  • NORTHERN AFRICA: Morocco
  • EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa [Gauteng, Western Cape]
Asia-Temperate
  • WESTERN ASIA: Lebanon
  • EASTERN ASIA: Japan
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia
  • NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand
Europe
  • NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Sweden
Northern America
  • REGION: Canada, United States
Southern America
  • SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Animal foodfodder Duke, J. A. 1981. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance
Animal foodforage Duke, J. A. 1981. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance
Bee plantshoney production Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
Environmentalsoil improver University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. UC SAREP on-line cover crop database (on-line resource). URL: http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/ccrop/
Food additivesflavoring Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
Medicinesfolklore Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: lists as Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.
Medicinesfolklore Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Vertebrate poisonsmammals Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Note: poisonous
Vertebrate poisonsmammals Cooper, M. R. & A. W. Johnson. 1998. Poisonous plants and fungi in Britain: animal and human poisoning Note: poisonous
Weedpotential seed contaminant Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Weedpotential seed contaminant Campbell, F. T., ed. 1995. Report of National Coalition of Exotic Plant Pest Councils (unpublished draft)


ILRI Germplasm Policy (excerpts)

The International Livestock research Institute (ILRI) maintains a collection of forage germplasm as a global public good. The material was acquired prior to the entry into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity; or if it was acquired after the entering into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity, it was obtained with the understanding that it was held in trust and could be made available for any agricultural research, breeding and training purposes under the terms and conditions set out in the agreement between the ILRI and FAO dated 26 October 1994. On 16 October 2006, ILRI signed an agreement with the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (the Treaty) placing these in trust collections of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) within the purview of the Treaty.

In accordance with this Agreement, all shipments of PGRFA of crops listed in Annex 1 to the Treaty (shipments of PGRFA under the Multilateral System) will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA). In the event that the SMTA (attached) is used for the transfer of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture other than those listed in Annex 1 of the Treaty: i) The references in the SMTA to the "Multilateral System" shall not be interpreted as limiting the application of the SMTA to Annex 1 Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and in the case of Article 6.2 of the SMTA shall mean "under this Agreement". ii) The reference in Article 6.11 and Annex 3 of the SMTA to "Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture belonging to the same crop, as set out in Annex 1 to the Treaty" shall be taken to mean "Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture belonging to the same crop".

The material is held in trust and the recipient has no rights to obtain Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) on the material or related information. The recipient may utilize and conserve the material for research, breeding and training and may distribute it to other parties provided such parties accept the terms and conditions of the SMTA .

ILRI will provide forage seeds in small experimental quantities of between 1 and 20 grams without charge from the germplasm collection under the SMTA as appropriate for the crop as part of its policy of maximizing the utilization of material for research, breeding and training. Larger quantities sufficient to sow up to one quarter of a hectare of a limited number of promising accessions will require that requesters cover the costs of production and shipping.

ILRI makes no warranties as to the safety or title of the material, nor as to the accuracy or correctness of any passport or other data provided with the material. Neither does it make any warranties as to the quality, viability, or purity (genetic or mechanical) of the material being furnished. The phytosanitary condition of the material is warranted only as described in the attached phytosanitary certificate. The recipient assumes full responsibility for complying with the recipient nation’s quarantine and biosafety regulations and rules as to import or release of genetic material.