# White Sweetclover (*Melilotus albus*) White Sweetclover is a lovely plant with tall, green stems and white flowers. It grows in fields and along roadsides, making the world a little prettier! - **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant) - **Rarity:** Common - **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low - **Snaps:** 13 - **Habitat:** Grasslands ![White Sweetclover](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Melilotus_alba_bgiu.jpg&width=800) Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Bogdan assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Melilotus_alba_bgiu.jpg) ## Appearance The White Sweetclover is a tall, upright plant with slender stems reaching several feet high. It has small, numerous white, pea-like flowers densely packed in long, narrow clusters. Its leaves are divided into three small leaflets. ## Taxonomy - **Kingdom:** Plantae - **Phylum:** Tracheophyta - **Class:** Magnoliopsida - **Order:** Fabales - **Family:** Fabaceae - **Genus:** Melilotus ## Interesting facts - Ancient people sometimes used sweetclover to help soothe aches and pains. - Its name "Sweetclover" comes from its sweet scent, especially when dried! - This plant helps keep soil from washing away with its strong roots. - You might find it growing even in tough places like roadsides and old fields! ## Special abilities - **Soil Supercharger:** White Sweetclover can add nitrogen to the soil, helping other plants grow stronger and boosting soil health. - **Deep Drinker:** White Sweetclover has a long taproot that can reach deep into the soil for water during dry spells. - **Sweet Scent Beacon:** White Sweetclover emits a sweet, honey-like fragrance that guides pollinators to its tiny flowers. ## Measurements & details - **Height:** 50-250 cm - **Spread:** 30-100 cm - **Flower Size:** 0.3-0.5 cm - **Bloom Season:** Summer to fall - **Edible:** Yes - **Toxicity:** Mild - **Lifecycle:** Biennial - **Pollination Method:** Insect ## Ecological connections - **Pollinates:** European Honey Bee (*Apis mellifera*) — Collects nectar and pollen from flowers. - **Pollinates:** [Common Eastern Bumble Bee](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-eastern-bumble-bee) (*Bombus impatiens*) — An important native pollinator. - **Symbiotic with:** Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria (*Rhizobium leguminosarum*) — Lives in root nodules, converts nitrogen. - **Eaten by:** [White-tailed Deer](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-tailed-deer) (*Odocoileus virginianus*) — Browses on leaves and stems. ## Traits - [Flowering](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/flowering): Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle. - [Nitrogen Fixing](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/nitrogen-fixing): Describes organisms capable of converting atmospheric nitrogen into compounds usable by plants. - [Biennial](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/biennial): Biennial plants complete their life cycle over two growing seasons, typically forming foliage in the first year and flowering/seeding in the second. - [Fragrant Flower](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/fragrant-flower): Fragrant flowers emit a pleasant aroma, often to attract pollinators or for defense. - [Agricultural](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/agricultural): This human use trait describes species cultivated or domesticated by humans for agricultural purposes, including crops and livestock. - [Edible](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/edible): Edible plants are those parts of a plant that are considered safe for human consumption. - [Grassland](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/grassland): Grassland habitats are terrestrial biomes dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants, supporting a variety of grazing animals. - [Pollinator Magnet](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/pollinator-magnet): Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms. ## Collections - [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/plants) ## Safety **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low Always look but don't touch plants unless you know they are safe. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How to identify White Sweetclover? Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details. ### How tall is White Sweetclover? 50-250 cm ### How wide does White Sweetclover spread? 30-100 cm ### How big are the flowers on White Sweetclover? 0.3-0.5 cm ### When does White Sweetclover bloom? Summer to fall ### Is White Sweetclover edible? Yes ### Is White Sweetclover toxic? Mild ### What is White Sweetclover's lifecycle? Biennial ## Where to spot - [Botanical Research Institute of Texas](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/botanical-research-institute-of-texas) — Texas, US · Botanical Garden - [Chesterfield Gorge](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/chesterfield-gorge) — Massachusetts, US · Nature Reserve - [Chicken Historic District](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/chicken-historic-district) — Alaska, US · Historic District - [Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/delaware-division-of-the-pennsylvania-canal) — Pennsylvania, US · Historic Site - [Patterson Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/patterson-park) — Maryland, US · Botanical Garden - [Sunrise](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/sunrise) — Alaska, US · Neighborhood [View all places to see White Sweetclover](https://www.snappit.app/guides/where-to-see/white-sweetclover) ## More Plants - [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*) - [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*) - [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*) - [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*) --- Source: [White Sweetclover: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-sweetclover)