Melilotus albus Medik., Fabaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Melilotus leucanthus W. D. J. Koch ex DC.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: bai hua cao mu xi

English: Bokhara clover, honey clover, white melilot, white sweet clover

French: mélilot blanc

Japanese: shirobana-shinagawa-hagi

Korean: huinjeondongssari

Spanish: meliloto blanco

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Annual or short-lived perennial herbs; stems erect, 3-15 (-30) dm long.  Leaflets elliptic to obovate, 10-30 (-40) mm long, 5-20 mm wide, margins serrate, stipules lanceolate, not widened at base, margins not scarious.  Racemes 4-15 cm long; corolla white, 4-5 mm long, standard and wings equal in length, longer than the keel; style 1.7-2.3 mm long.  Pods pale to dark brown at maturity, 3-4 (-5) mm long, strongly reticulate-veined.  Seeds usually 1"  (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 686-687).

"Erect annual or biennial up to 2.5 m high; stems almost glabrous or sparsely to moderately hairy in upper parts. Leaves almost glabrous but sparsely hairy when young; petioles c. 5-25 mm long; leaflets oblong- elliptic to obovate, obtuse to acute, mucronate, obtuse to cuneate at base, serrate, c. 10-30 mm long; stipules linear-lanceolate, entire. Racemes lax and slender, up to 25 cm long at fruiting; flowers numerous. Peduncles > petioles. Calyx ± glabrous to sparsely hairy; calyx teeth = or < tube, narrowly triangular. Corolla white, 4-5 mm long; wings ± = keel. Pod glabrous, reticulately veined, 3-5 mm long, 1-2-seeded; seeds light brown, 2-3 mm long"  (Webb et al., 1988; p. 667).

Description from Flora of China online.

Habitat/ecology:  "Riparian habitats, grassland, disturbed places.  This herb grows on a wide range of soils and forms dense stands where invasive.  It colonizes disturbed sites and may become dominant, outcompeting native grasses and forbs.  It is nitrogen-fixing and increases soil fertility levels, thereby changing the floristic composition of invaded areas.  Burning facilitates the establishment of this plant in grassland communities"  (Weber, 2003; p. 261).

In Hawai‘i, "apparently uncommon in disturbed sites, 5-1,340 m"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 687).

Propagation:  Seed.  "Seeds are dispersed by water and may remain viable in the soil for more than 20 years"  (Weber, 2003; p. 261).

Native range:  "Native to Europe, widely introduced as a fodder plant" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 687). Northern Africa, Europe, Asia; also cultivated and naturalized (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 686-687)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R. (1995) (p. 20) East Maui. Voucher cited: Hobdy 2830 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2004) (p. 12) West Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H110203 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Shannon, Robynn K./Wagner, Warren L. (1996) (p. 14) Voucher cited: Degener 11095 (US)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 86) Voucher cited: MacKee 10124 Spontané
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Midway Atoll	Midway Atoll	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 686-687) Voucher cited: Herbst & Takeuchi 6363 (BISH)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	introduced invasive	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2013) "Weed of cultivation and waste places, rarely common. " Naturalised
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2013) South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia Naturalised
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2013) Naturalised
British Columbia (province of Canada) Province of British Columbia	Canada (British Columbia)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2013)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) "Moist soil in fields, roadsides, wastelands". Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Yunnan
Japan Japan	Japan	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 185)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 667) "Dry waste places and cultivated land".
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Chile (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 232)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 232)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Oregon)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2013)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2013)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Washington)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2013)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mascarene Islands Mascarene Islands (Mauritius, La Reunion, Rodrigues)	Mascarene Islands	introduced invasive	Weber, Ewald (2003) (p. 261)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 232)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Canada Canada	Canada	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2013)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2013)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2013)

Control: 

Physical:  "Scattered plants can be hand pulled, most of the root must be removed.  Cutting close to the ground is effective if done before flowering occurs.  Prescribed burning is used to control this plant in North American prairies".

Chemical:  "Effective herbicides are 2,4-D amine, dicamba, or MCPA"  (Weber, 2003; p. 261).