Melilotus albus

White sweetclover

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

White sweetclover is a naturalized annual found in California in pastures and open disturbed sites at elevations up to 3,160 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces delicate white flowers in slender inflorescences approximately 3 to 8 centimeters long. Growing with upright stems 0.5 to 2 meters tall that are nearly glabrous or slightly hairy, it has an open, branching habit. Its leaves feature elliptic-oblong to obovate leaflets 1 to 2.5 centimeters long with slightly toothed edges. The small fruit develops a distinctive network of fine lines, creating an intricate surface texture.

Habitat: Locally abundant. Pastures, open disturbed sites

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: < 3160 m

Bioregions: CA

California counties: San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Ventura, San Diego, Orange, Imperial, Riverside, Inyo, Santa Barbara, Kern, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Yuba, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Yolo, San Benito, Fresno, Mendocino, Tuolumne, Tulare, Humboldt, Butte, Merced, Nevada, Mono, Monterey, Lake, San Mateo, Alameda, San Luis Obispo, Colusa, Plumas, Sonoma, San Joaquin, Placer, El Dorado, Sutter, Alpine, Amador, Sacramento, Solano, Tehama, Modoc, Napa, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Trinity, Del Norte, Lassen, Shasta, Mariposa

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.