MELILOTUS GRAECUS

Family and Genus:- See- LEGUMINOSAE

Common Names:- Small melilot

Homotypic Synonyms:- Pocockia graeca, Trigonella graeca.

Meaning:- Melilotus (Gr) Honey-clover. A name used by the Greek academic

Theophrastus and refers to melilot's attractiveness to honeybees.

Graecus (L) Grecian, Greek.

General description:- Glabrous, ascending to erect annual.

Stems:-

1) 10-30 cm, often branched from the base.

Leaves:-

1) Leaflets, 10-15 x 7-12 mm, obovate-cuneate, shallowly dentate at the apex,

somewhat fleshy.

2) Stipules, lanceolate-acuminate, dentate to incised.

Flowers:-

1) Peduncles, 4-6 cm, longer than the petiole of the subtending leaf.

2) Inflorescence, a lax, 8-12-flowered raceme.

3) Calyx, 2-5 mm, usually campanulate.

a) teeth, 1/2 as long as the tube.

4) Corolla, 7-10 mm. yellow.

Fruit:-

1) Legume, ftat, parchment-like, broadly elliptical, 10-13x 8-12 mm, 2-3-seeded,

with a broad membranous wing; veins distinct, sparsely anastomosing.

2) Seeds, 2-3, c. 4 mm, ovoid, brown, tuberculate.

Key features:-

1) Calyx, 2-5 mm, usually campanulate.

2) Legume, flat, 12-20 x 10-15 mm; membranous, with a broad membranous wing

on the suture.

4) Corolla, 7-10 mm.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Sandy and gravelly coastal habitats, olive groves, evergreen and mixed

scrub. 0-700 m.

Distribution:- Fairly common in S & W Greece. Limited distribution on Crete

mainly around coastal areas.

Flowering time:- Late Mar-May.

Photos by:- Dr. Armin Jagel