Above: White Sweet Clover near shore of Lake Wingra in Wingra Park in Madison, Wisconsin on July 12, 2019.
White Sweet Clover - Melilotus albus (Introduced - naturalized; ecologically invasive)
The White Sweet Clover has 5-parted white flowers (in the shape of members of the pea family) that are clustered in spike-like racemes up to 6-8 inches long.
Like Yellow Sweet Clover (Melilotus officinalis), White Sweet Clover was also brought to North America as a forage crop. It escaped cultivation and invades dry, disturbed sites such as roadsides and fields.
Other names: Honey clover, White melilot.
Bloom: June - October.
Yellow Sweet Clover (Melilotus officinalis) once had the same classification as White Sweet Clover but is now considered a separate species. White Sweet Cover (Melilotus albus) starts blooming a few weeks after Yellow Sweet Cover (Melilotus officinalis).
For more information on White Sweet Clover visit Wikipedia.
Or, for information on White Sweet Clover (Melilotus albus ) visit the: Wisconsin State Herbarium.
White Sweet Clover
Melilotus albus
Above: White Sweet Clover near sidewalk along Monroe Street in Madison, Wisconsin (6/27/22).
Above:White Sweet Clover near shore of Lake Wingra in Wingra Park in Madison, Wisconsin(7/12/19).
Above: White Sweet Clover specimen collected along roadside in Platteville, Wisconsin on June 15, 1948.
Above: White Sweet Clover botanical illustration circa 1913.
Above: White Sweet Clover (Melilotus officinalis*) line drawing from USDA NRCS, Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species., USDA NRCS National Wetland Team. * NOTE: The USDA Plant database still classifies White and Yellow Sweet Clover as the same.