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White
and yellow sweet clover (Melilotus
alba, Melilotus officinalis)
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Native
Substitutes: |
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Control Methods |
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Appearance:
Biennial forbs, they are very similar. Yellow sweet clover is usually
smaller and blooms earlier. First year plants do not bloom. Second
year plants grow 3-5' high and are bush-like. Sweet clovers are
very fragrant. Leaves:
Alternate, divided into three finely toothed leaflets, middle leaflet
is stalked. Flower:
Crowded densely at the top four inches along a central stem, each
flower is attached by a minute stalk; bloom June through August on
second year plants. Seed:
One or two hard small seeds per flower. Seeds stay viable in the soil
for 30 years. Root:
Strong taproot. |
Sweet clover invades and
degrades native grasslands by overtopping and shading native sun-loving
plants, thereby reducing diversity. It grows abundantly on disturbed
lands, roadsides, abandoned fields. It responds favorably to prescribed
burns by scarifying seeds that stimulates germination. First year
plants are hard to detect. Native to Europe, it was brought to the
U.S. in the late 1600s as a forage crop and soil enhancer, predominately
in the Great Plains and Upper Midwest. |
Wisconsin
Manual of Control Recommendations for Ecologically Invasive Plants,
1997 |
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