Melilotus officinalis seed Melilot
LATIN NAME: MELILOTUS OFFICINALIS
COMMON NAME: Yellow Melilot, Yellow Sweet Clover, Common Melilot
The yellow melilot is a tall and fragrant herb of the meadows and the roadsides, and it has been a valued plant of the bees, the soil and the old traditions of Europe. It grows as a tall, erect, biennial or short-lived perennial herb, reaching up to a metre and a half or more, with upright, branching stems bearing alternate, three-parted, clover-like leaves and, from the early summer, long, slender racemes of many small, yellow, pea-like flowers, which are intensely fragrant with the sweet scent of the fresh-mown hay, followed by the small, wrinkled pods of the few small seeds. It is a species of the flowering herb in the pea family, native to the meadows and the roadsides of Europe and the western Asia, while it is grown for its fragrance, its value to the bees and its long history of use, and it is known as the yellow melilot.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The yellow melilot has a real and distinguished place in research. It has been studied in the chemistry of natural products and the traditional use, since the sweetly fragrant herb of the yellow melilot has a very long history of use in the traditional ways of Europe, and the researchers have examined the plant and its constituents, while the chemistry of the sweet clovers has drawn attention in the international pharmaceutical and botanical press, and the study of the plant has been of continuing interest, since the coumarin of the melilot gives the sweet scent of the fresh hay, and the changes of the coumarin in the spoiled fodder have also been of great interest in the history of the chemistry, and the plant is best appreciated as a subject of study and a generous herb of the meadow rather than a casual remedy. The plant has also been studied in the agriculture and the ecology, since the yellow melilot is a nitrogen-fixing legume of the meadows, and the researchers have examined its value in the soil, its use in the fodder and its place in the feeding of the bees, while its long, slender racemes of the fragrant, yellow flowers have been of the greatest value to the beekeepers. The species has also been studied in botany, since it is a native of the meadows of Europe. For an herb of such long and fragrant history, the yellow melilot has a rich and continuing record of study.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
To grow the Yellow Melilot from seed, ecologically, the yellow melilot is a generous herb of the garden. Its long, slender racemes of the small, yellow, pea-like flowers feed the bees and the many insects through the summer, and its nitrogen-fixing roots enrich the soil where it grows, while its tall, leafy growth gives a cover to the small creatures of the meadow. Its economic value is real: the yellow melilot is prized for its fragrance, its value to the bees and its nitrogen-fixing roots, and its value has drawn attention in the international agricultural and botanical press, while it has been grown for the fodder, the green manure and the honey, and its sweet, fragrant herb has been valued in the old traditions of Europe. To raise the yellow melilot, soak the hard seeds in warm water overnight, then sow them in pots of free-draining compost, keep them lightly watered, and grow the little herbs on in the sun.
soak the hard seeds in warm water overnight, then sow the young melilots in pots of free-draining compost, keep them lightly watered, and grow the little herbs on in the sun.
LATIN NAME: Melilotus officinalis
COMMON NAME: Yellow Sweet Clover
The yellow sweet clover is a handsome, upright, aromatic biennial of the waysides and the fields, and its fine, clover-like leaves and its tall, slender spikes of the many small, yellow, pea-like, fragrant flowers have made it a familiar and useful plant of the wild and the fields. It grows as an upright, aromatic biennial, reaching up to one metre or more, with the upright, branching stems bearing the alternate, three-foliolate, clover-like, toothed leaves and, through the summer, the tall, slender, upright spikes of the many small, yellow, pea-like, fragrant flowers, followed by the small, dry, wrinkled pods of the few seeds. It is a species of the flowering plant in the pea family, and it is native to the Europe and the western Asia, while it grows in the waysides and the fields, and it is known as the yellow sweet clover.
The yellow sweet clover belongs to the pea family, Fabaceae, and it is a species of the upright biennial, native to the Europe and the western Asia, while it grows in the waysides and the fields, and it is known as the yellow sweet clover. It is prized for its tall, slender spikes of the small, yellow, pea-like, fragrant flowers.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The yellow sweet clover has a real and distinguished place in the research. It has been studied in the ecology and the agriculture, since it is a fine, nitrogen-fixing plant of the fields, and researchers have examined its growth, its distribution and its role in the improvement of the poor soils, while its value in the cover crops and the forage has drawn attention in the international agricultural and ecological press as a plant of the fields. The plant has also been studied in the botany, since it is a fine member of the pea family, and researchers have examined its relationships and its place among the clovers, while the study of the nitrogen-fixing legumes has been of continuing interest, and the diversity of the pea family has been of value. The species has also been studied in the chemistry of the natural products and the food science, since the sweet clover yields the fine coumarin-like compounds that give it its sweet, hay-like scent, and researchers have examined these constituents, while the chemistry of the sweet clovers has been of continuing interest, and the study of the plant has been of value in the safe handling of the forage. For a plant of such quiet value, the yellow sweet clover has a rich and continuing record of study.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the yellow sweet clover is a generous plant of the garden. Its tall, slender spikes of the small, yellow, pea-like flowers feed the bees and the many insects, and its fine, leafy growth gives a fine, upright presence to the meadow garden and the wayside.
Its economic value is real. The yellow sweet clover is prized for its fine, nitrogen-rich growth and its sweet, hay-like scent, and its worth has drawn attention in the international agricultural and ecological press as a plant of the fields, while its fine, fragrant growth has been valued in the improvement of the soils and the feeding of the livestock of the many lands. For a grower, the yellow sweet clover is an easy and useful plant, and for a gardener it brings a tall, slender, yellow, pea-flowered, fragrant plant to the meadow garden. The seeds are easy to start — give them a quick dip in warm water, then sow them just below the surface of a pot of moist, free-draining soil, keep them lightly watered, and theyll be sprouting steadily, growing on into a tall, yellow, pea-flowered, fragrant plant.
This biennial plant is 2 to 4 feet high at maturity and blooms in spring and summer. Flowers are yellow. Its characteristic sweet odor, intensified by drying, is derived from coumarin. Sweet Clover contains coumarin that converts to dicoumarol (a powerful anticoagulant toxin) when the plant becomes mouldy. This can lead to bleeding diseases (internal hemorrhaging) and death in cattle. Consequently, hay containing the plant must be properly dried and cured, especially in wet environments. In the chemical industry dicoumarol is extracted from the plant to produce rodenticide. Propagation: Germination rate of this species is very good. Sow directly in prepared garden bed or growing area.