Family |
Fabaceae
Melilotus indicus
(L.) All.
Melilotus indicus (L.) All.
First published in Fl. Pedem. 1: 308 (1785).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 267, Pl. CIII, 6; 1970)
Description
Life-form & habit: Annual with erect or spreading stems, 20–60 cm tall.
Leaves: Stipules have entire margins; the upper leaves have lanceolate leaflets.
Inflorescence & flowers: Numerous small flowers form slender, spikelike racemes on stalks about as long as the adjacent leaves.
Fruit: Long, more or less dense racemes of blunt, ovoid pods, 2–3 mm long, with irregular transverse netting.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering February–March.
Habitat & elevation: Slightly damp fields.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Saida, Beirut, Tripoli, Araya, Qrayye, Rayak, Chtaura, Qaa and Kornet Chehwan.
Syrian distribution: Sahl es Sahra, Chabaa, Jeramana, Ghouta, Adra, Hama, Homs–Hama, Meskene, Palmyra and Er Raouda.
Native range: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Assam, Baleares, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, China South-Central, China Southeast, Corse, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., East Himalaya, Egypt, France, Greece, Gulf States, Hainan, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kriti, Kuwait, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, North Caucasus, NW. Balkan Pen., Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Portugal, Sardegna, Saudi Arabia, Sicilia, Sinai, Spain, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Uzbekistan, West Himalaya, Western Sahara, Yemen.
Introduced into: Alabama, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Arizona, Arkansas, Austria, Azores, Bahamas, Baltic States, Belgium, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, California, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Chad, Chatham Is., Chile Central, Chile North, Chile South, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czechia-Slovakia, Delaware, Djibouti, Easter Is., Ecuador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Florida, Free State, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greenland, Hawaii, Honduras, Idaho, Ireland, Jawa, Kentucky, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Louisiana, Madeira, Maine, Massachusetts, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexican Pacific Is., Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Namibia, Netherlands, Nevada, New Caledonia, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New South Wales, New York, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Niger, Norfolk Is., North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Nova Scotia, Ogasawara-shoto, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Peru, Queensland, Réunion, Socotra, Somalia, South Australia, South Carolina, Sri Lanka, St.Helena, Sudan-South Sudan, Switzerland, Tasmania, Texas, Uganda, Uruguay, Utah, Vermont, Victoria, Virginia, Washington, Western Australia, Wisconsin, Zimbabwe.