HerbWildAnnualMedicinal

Melilotus albus Medik.

Safed Sinji

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Description

Melilotus albus is an annual or biennial herb, usually 50–150 cm tall, with an erect, branched growth habit. Stems are slender, hollow, and glabrous to slightly hairy. Leaves are trifoliolate, alternate, and arranged on long petioles. Leaflets are obovate to elliptic, with serrated margins, especially near the upper portion. Flowers are small, bisexual, white, and arranged in elongated axillary racemes. The flowers possess the typical papilionaceous structure and produce a sweet fragrance due to coumarin compounds. Fruits are small, oval, one-seeded pods that become brown at maturity.

Diagnostic Characters

Vegetative

Tall herbaceous legume. Trifoliate leaves. Serrated leaflets.

Floral

White fragrant pea flowers. Long racemes.

Fruit & Seed

Small one-seeded pods.

Distribution

Native range: Native to Eurasia.

In Pakistan: Found in Pakistan, India, Temperate regions worldwide.

Phenology

Flowering

Fruiting

Flowering: May–September Fruiting: Summer–autumn

Ethnobotany & Uses

Agricultural Importance

Used as Forage crop, Green manure, Nitrogen-fixing cover crop.

Medicinal Importance

Contains Coumarin, Flavonoids. Traditional uses Anti-inflammatory preparations, Digestive remedies.

Ecological Importance

Improves soil fertility. Supports pollinating insects.

UniFlora AI Assistant

Ask about Safed Sinji

Hello! I'm UniFlora AI. Ask me anything about Safed Sinji (*Melilotus albus*) — identification tips, flowering season, uses, campus locations, or taxonomy.

Where it grows on campus

This species is on the campus floristic list but was not pinned during the GPS mapping survey, so it has no map records yet.

Taxonomic Notes

Melilotus albus is closely related to Melilotus officinalis but differs by White flowers, Slightly different pod morphology, UniFlora Field Recognition Tip 🌿. Look for 🌱 Tall sweet clover, 🍃 Three toothed leaflets, ⚪ White fragrant flowers.