Yellow Sweet Clover

Notes:

A sweet-smelling herb in the pea family (Fabacae). It is an erect annual or biennial that grows from strong taproots, often growing in colonies. The stems are freely branched above, hairless or with sparse, fine, flat, stiff, very short hairs. The leaves are alternate on the stems, and each leaf is comprised of 3 leaflets, arising from a distinct petiole. The leaflets are .5 to 1.5 inches long, with small, sharp teeth, almost hairless to finely flat- short-hairy. The numerous yellow flowers grow in clusters, flowering from May to October. The fruit is produced in pods, usually with 1 seed. Seeds are dispersed by water and wind. They are drought tolerant and winter hardy, but cannot withstand prolonged flooding.