Melilotus indicus (L.) All., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: annual yellow sweetclover, Indian sweet-clover, King Island melilot, small melilot, sour-clover

French: mélilot des Indes

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Annual herbs; stems erect or ascending, 1-5 dm long.  Leaflets oblong-elliptic, elliptic, or obovate, (4-) 15-20 mm long, (3-) 7-10 mm wide, margins serrate, stipules lanceolate, widened at base and often with an additional lobe, margins scarious.  Racemes 2.5-5 cm long; corolla yellow to pale yellow, 2-3 mm long, wings and keel equal in length, shorter than the standard; style 0.7-1.2 mm long.  Pods pale gray when young, yellowish or reddish at maturity, 1.5-2 (-3) mm long, strongly reticulate-veined.  Seed usually 1"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 687).

"Erect or ascending annual up to 0.6 m high; stems ± glabrous or sparsely hairy in upper parts. Leaves usually ± glabrous, sometimes sparsely or moderately hairy particularly when young; petioles c. 5-25 mm long; leaflets elliptic to obovate, usually obtuse, sometimes slightly emarginate or acute, usually shortly mucronate, obtuse to cuneate at base, serrate, c. 6-25 mm long; stipules lanceolate, entire or obscurely dentate at base. Racemes slender, dense at flowering and sometimes at fruiting but often elongated up to 12 cm at fruiting; flowers (10)-numerous. Peduncles usually > petioles. Calyx ± glabrous or sparsely hairy; calyx teeth > tube, subulate. Corolla yellow, becoming white with age, 2-3 mm long; wings ± = keel. Pod glabrous, reticulately veined, 2-3-(4) mm long, 1-2-seeded; seeds light brown, 1.5-2 mm long"  (Webb et al., 1988; p. 667).

Habitat/ecology:  "Grassland, freshwater wetlands, riparian habitats, coastal beaches. This plant is invasive because it rapidly colonizes suitable sites and builds up dense stands that reduce native species richness.  The plant is nitrogen-fixing and increases soil fertility levels.  Little is known on the ecology of this plant where invasive"  (Weber, 2003; p. 262).

In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in dry, disturbed areas, primarily along roadsides, 2-2,855 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 687).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Native from the Mediterranean region and southwestern Europe to India" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 687).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Lord Howe Island	Lord Howe Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 19) "Probably introduced with fodder plants, although reputedly poisonous to stock". Voucher cited: J. Pickard 2729 (NSW)
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 9) "Probably introduced with fodder plants, although reputedly poisonous to stock". Vouchers cited: W.R. Sykes NI 325 (CHR); G. Uhe 1148 (K); R.M. Laing (CHR); 1898, I. Robinson (NSW); 1902, J.H. Maiden & amp; J.L. Boorman (NSW)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 687)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 687)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 687)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 687) Voucher cited: Forbes s.n. (BISH)
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 86) Vouchers cited: Déméné in MacKee 17592, MacKee 29470 Spontané
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Midway Atoll	Midway Atoll	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 687)

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)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (pp. 232-233)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009) Xizang
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
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, most common in coastal areas".
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (pp. 232-233)

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	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (pp. 232-233)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Melilotus indicus is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Melilotus indicus as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Melilotus indicus may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

U. S. Government. 2009. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.