Melilotus indicus Seeds | Indian Sweetclover
LATIN NAME: Melilotus indicus
COMMON NAME: Indian Sweetclover, Annual Yellow Sweetclover
Plant Profile
Indian Sweetclover (Melilotus indicus) is a slender, upright annual. Indian sweetclover is one of those quiet plants that most people walk past without a second glance, yet it is quietly everywhere and quietly useful. It grows as a slender, upright annual or biennial, usually knee-high or a little more, with finely divided leaves in threes like a small clover, and slender spikes of pale yellow pea-flowers through the summer. The whole plant gives off a sweet, hay-like scent, especially as it dries, which is how it earned the name sweetclover, and it sways lightly in the breeze with a soft golden bloom. For the gardener, the sum of these traits is a plant that is easy to live with.
Science & Biotechnology
As part of the Melilotus group, Melilotus indicus contributes to research on plant classification and adaptation, while nurseries and gardeners continue to trial it for cultivation. Indian sweetclover has a firm place in agricultural and plant science. Its behaviour in gardens is well recorded, thanks to a long history in cultivation.
Uses & Benefits
Indian Sweetclover brings genuine presence to the garden and earns its keep across the growing season. Ecologically, Indian sweetclover is a benefactor. It feeds nitrogen into soil, improving fertility for plants that follow, and its flowers provide nectar for bees and other pollinators through the summer. It is widely used in green manures, cover-crop mixtures and land restoration, especially on disturbed or poor ground. After the first season it asks for very little beyond a place that suits it.
Sweet clover’s coumarin scent perfumes hay and flavors traditional cheeses; its chemistry led to the discovery of the anticoagulant dicoumarol, and standardized melilotus extracts serve in European vein preparations.
Growing from Seed
Indian Sweetclover grows readily from seed. Indian sweetclover is one of easiest seeds you will ever sow. Small, hard seeds germinate steadily with basic care. Sow evenly over the surface and cover lightly into a loose, well-drained seed compost, water in gently, and keep the sowing in bright light with steady moisture. Pot the young plants on as they grow, harden them off gradually, and plant them into their final positions when sturdy.
Our Take
Indian Sweetclover, Annual Yellow Sweetclover is the kind of plant that rewards a permanent spot. Once the young plants are away, there is little left to do but watch them grow.
Related Reading
Gardeners who grow Indian Sweetclover often pair it with these related subjects: