Stats

Lifespan: 1-2 yrs
Size: Large
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: Eurasia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

White sweet clover is a tall biennial legume whose sweet fragrance comes from coumarin — when improperly dried hay ferments, coumarin converts to dicoumarol, the natural anticoagulant that inspired the development of warfarin. It is also a prized nectar plant, often planted specifically to support honeybee colonies.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Melilotus
Species: Melilotus albus