White Melilot Seeds - Melilotus albus

Melilotus albus, also known as white sweet clover, is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant. Characterised by its white summer flowering, trifoliate leaves, and taproot, it is used as a nitrogen-fixing forage plant, green manure, and nectar-rich plant that provides excellent honey yields. It is also an edible plant. It grows in all types of soil, even very dry ones. The only conditions that are not suitable for it are shade and acidic soils.

It belongs to the Fabaceae family. It is native to a large part of Asia and southern Europe, from France and Spain to Kazakhstan and Myanmar, as well as northeastern Africa. It grows in limestone clearings, lightly wooded cliffs, meadows, weed-infested pastures, open and disturbed sites, road edges, ditches, vacant lots, and fallow land. It is a honey-bearing herbaceous plant, reaching a height of 30cm (12in) to 1.2m (4ft), depending on growing conditions. It develops leaves with 3 leaflets. The light green stems are round or slightly furrowed and often branched. The alternate leaves are trifoliate and scattered along the stem. The upper stems end in narrow racemes of white flowers that tend to hang down from the central peduncle of the raceme. Each flower measures about 8.5mm long and consists of 5 white petals and a light green calyx with 5 teeth. The flowers are small, soft, tubular at the base, and widen towards the outer edges. Its clusters of white flowers appear from June to September. The plants usually flower and die during the second year of growth. It is cold-resistant down to -15°C (5°F) and drought-tolerant. It is distinguished by its deep roots that help to loosen soil.

It is adapted to a wide range of climatic conditions and grows in virtually all types of soils, including very poor ones. It prefers soils with a neutral pH or a tendency towards alkaline. It only needs adequate moisture during germination. It can develop in extremely dry conditions. It can be invasive and precautions should be taken to remove the flowers before they spread. This plant nourishes and improves the soil by providing various nutrients and stimulating soil microbial life. Its roots will loosen soil, break it up, and aerate it. Used as green manure, it also protects soils from leaching (nutrient loss in sandy soils), rain compaction (crusting in loamy soils), and erosion (due to runoff in case of heavy rains on sloping terrain). This vegetative cover also helps limit weed growth. Green manures are sown on uncultivated plots or intercropped between rows of vegetables. They are either naturally destroyed by frost or mowed before seed formation. Once destroyed, they can be left in place as mulch, be shredded and incorporated into the surface layers of the soil, or be collected and added to compost.

It is an edible plant that is rich in vitamin C. Its leaves emit a sweet smell reminiscent of coumarin, a characteristic hay smell. Its young raw leaves can be eaten in small quantities in salads, and its seeds as spices. Although white sweet clover has medicinal properties, it is strongly advised not to harvest it and dry it yourself for use as a "treatment". Improperly dried coumarin transforms into dicoumarol, a highly toxic compound. It is antispasmodic, antiseptic, and diuretic. It is also used to aid sleep and calm nervousness. Consumed in very high doses, white sweet clover can be toxic.