Taxon: Melilotus albus Medik.

Summary

Genus:

Melilotus

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Faboideae

Tribe:

Trifolieae

Nomen number:

23989

Place of publication:

Vorles. Churpfälz. Phys.-öcon. Ges. 2:382. 1787

Comment:

most references list Desr. in Lam. (not Medikus) as author

Verified:

08/25/1989 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

512 (366 active, 302 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Autonym(s)
Melilotus albus Medik. var. albus

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam. subsp. albus (Medik.) H. Ohashi & Tateishi

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Melilotus albus Medik. var. annuus H. S. Coe
Melilotus leucanthus W. D. J. Koch ex DC.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Links

Seeds or fruits – Seed ID Workshop image, from Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio State University

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
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).
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya.
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Campbell, F. T., ed. 1995. Report of National Coalition of Exotic Plant Pest Councils (unpublished draft)
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Cooper, M. R. & A. W. Johnson. 1998. Poisonous plants and fungi in Britain: animal and human poisoning Note: poisonous
Cronquist, A. et al. 1972-. Intermountain flora.
Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 145.
Duke, J. A. 1981. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance Note: = Melilotus alba
Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Fu, Y. C. et al. 1977-. Flora intramongolica.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Ghazanfar, S. A. 1992. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2
Graham, E. H. 1941. Legumes for erosion control and wildlife. USDA Misc. Publ. 412.
Hacker, J. B. 1990. A guide to herbaceous and shrub legumes of Queensland University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia, Australia.
Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11. Note: = Melilotus alba
Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
Inst. Bot. V. L. Komarova, Acad. Sci. URSS. 1963-. Plantae asiae centralis.
International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan. Note: = Melilotus officinalis subsp. albus (Medik.) H. Ohashi & Tateishi
Kellerman, T. S. et al. 1988. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa Note: poisonous
Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Note: poisonous
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Lee, Y. N. 1997. Flora of Korea.
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Magness, J. R. et al. 1971. Food and feed crops of the United States. IR Bull. 1
Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Migahid, A. M. 1988-1990. Flora of Saudi Arabia, ed. 3.
Mun-Chan, B. et al. 1986. A checklist of the Korean cultivated plants. Kulturpflanze 34:110.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Norton, J. et al. 2009. Illustrated checklist of the flora of Qatar.
Pammel, L. H. 1911. Manual of poisonous plants. Note: poisonous
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Press, J. R. & M. J. Short, eds. 1994. Flora of Madeira.
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Sales, F. & I. C. Hedge. 1993. Melilotus Miller (Leguminosae): typification and nomenclature. Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 51:172. Note: designates lectotype
Small, E. et al. 1981. The taxonomic value of floral characters in tribe Trigonelleae (Leguminosae), with special reference to Medicago. Canad. J. Bot. 59:1581.
Stevenson, G. A. 1969. An agronomic and taxonomic review of the genus Melilotus Mill. Canad. J. Pl. Sci. 49:4.
Täckholm, V. 1974. Students' flora of Egypt, ed. 2.
Thulin, M. 1983. Leguminosae of Ethiopia. Opera Bot. 68:1-223.
Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. UC SAREP on-line cover crop database (on-line resource).
Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
Voronchikhin, V. V. & N. A. Basilevskaya. 1974. Opredelenie sornykh vidov roda Melilotus Adans. po plodam i semenam. (Identification of weed plants from the genus Melilotus Adans. with the help of their pods and seeds). Vestn. Moskovsk. Univ., Ser. 6, Biol. 29:34.
Walters, S. M. et al., eds. 1986-2000. European garden flora.
Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1961. Webster's third new international dictionary.
2018. Mid-Atlantic invasive plant species (on-line resource)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Note: forage crop

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	Bokhara-clover		1	Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
English	honey-clover		1	1961. Webster's third new international dictionary.
English	white melilot		1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
English	white sweet-clover		1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Arabic	handaquq		2	Norton, J. et al. 2009. Illustrated checklist of the flora of Qatar.
Arabic	nafal		2	Norton, J. et al. 2009. Illustrated checklist of the flora of Qatar.
English (Canada)	white sweet-clover	Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada official name	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 145.
French	mélilot blanc		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French (Canada)	mélilot blanc	Agriculture & Agroalimentaire Canada nom officiel	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 145.
German	Bokharaklee		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
German	weißer Steinklee		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Italian	meliloto bianco		2	International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Japanese Rōmaji	shirobana-shinagawa-hagi		2	Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Portuguese	meliloto-branco		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	meliloto blanco		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Swedish	vit sötväppling		2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Transcribed Chinese	bai hua cao mu xi		2	Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Transcribed Korean	huinjeondongssari		2	Lee, Y. N. 1997. Flora of Korea.

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Egypt		n.	Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Libya		n.	Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Oman			Ghazanfar, S. A. 1992. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Saudi Arabia		as M. alba Medic.	Migahid, A. M. 1988-1990. Flora of Saudi Arabia, ed. 3.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Yemen			Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Armenia			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Azerbaijan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Georgia			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation	Dagestan		Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia	Ciscaucasia		Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kazakhstan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kyrgyzstan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Tajikistan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Turkmenistan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Uzbekistan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Western Siberia	Western Siberia		Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Afghanistan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Cyprus			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iraq			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Israel			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Jordan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Lebanon			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Bhutan
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan			Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Myanmar
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Belarus			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Estonia			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Latvia			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Lithuania			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Moldova			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation-European part	European part		Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine		incl. Krym	Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Austria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Czechoslovakia			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Germany			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Hungary			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Poland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Former Yugoslavia			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Greece			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Romania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France		incl. Corsica	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
2	Cultivated					also cult.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Portugal	Azores		Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Portugal	Madeira Islands		Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Spain	Canarias		Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Qatar			Norton, J. et al. 2009. Illustrated checklist of the flora of Qatar.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	United Arab Emirates			Norton, J. et al. 2009. Illustrated checklist of the flora of Qatar.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11. Note: = Melilotus alba
4	Naturalized	Australasia	New Zealand	New Zealand
4	Naturalized	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom
4	Naturalized	Northern America		Canada
4	Naturalized	Northern America		United States
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii
4	Naturalized	Southern America		South America
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	Central America

Native
Africa

NORTHERN AFRICA: Egypt (n.), Libya (n.)

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Oman, Saudi Arabia (as M. alba Medic.), Yemen
WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey
CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia], Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation [Dagestan]
SIBERIA: Russian Federation-Western Siberia [Western Siberia]
MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
CHINA: China

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bhutan, India, Pakistan
INDO-CHINA: Myanmar

Europe

MIDDLE EUROPE: Czechoslovakia, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland
EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part], Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine (incl. Krym)
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Romania
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France (incl. Corsica)

Cultivated (also cult.)
Naturalized
Africa

MACARONESIA: Spain [Canarias], Portugal [Azores, Madeira Islands]
SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: United Arab Emirates, Qatar

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia
NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: United Kingdom

Northern America

REGION: Canada, United States

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]

Southern America

CENTRAL AMERICA: Central America
REGION: South America

Reference(s)

Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Ghazanfar, S. A. 1992. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2
Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11. Note: = Melilotus alba
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
Migahid, A. M. 1988-1990. Flora of Saudi Arabia, ed. 3.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Norton, J. et al. 2009. Illustrated checklist of the flora of Qatar.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	forage		Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Animal food	forage		Magness, J. R. et al. 1971. Food and feed crops of the United States. IR Bull. 1
Bee plants	honey production		Hacker, J. B. 1990. A guide to herbaceous and shrub legumes of Queensland University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia, Australia.
Bee plants	honey production		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Bee plants	honey production	as Melilotus alba	Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
Environmental	soil improver		University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. UC SAREP on-line cover crop database (on-line resource).
Environmental	soil improver		Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Environmental	soil improver	green manure	Duke, J. A. 1981. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance Note: = Melilotus alba
Medicines	folklore		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 poisons	mammals		Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Note: poisonous
Vertebrate poisons	mammals		Pammel, L. H. 1911. Manual of poisonous plants. Note: poisonous
Vertebrate poisons	mammals		Kellerman, T. S. et al. 1988. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa Note: poisonous
Vertebrate poisons	mammals		Cooper, M. R. & A. W. Johnson. 1998. Poisonous plants and fungi in Britain: animal and human poisoning Note: poisonous
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Campbell, F. T., ed. 1995. Report of National Coalition of Exotic Plant Pest Councils (unpublished draft)

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=23989. Accessed 12 May 2026.