Yellow sweet clover
Drought-tolerant biennial legume whose yellow racemes give heavy nectar all summer; a main source of pale sweet clover honey.
- Nectar
- Very good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Crystallisation
- Medium
- Height
- 0,5-2 m
- Life cycle
- Biennial
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Yellow sweet clover is one of the most productive legumes for honey bees. Its small, fragrant yellow flowers are arranged in long racemes; the short flower tube makes the nectar easily accessible to bees. Thanks to its deep roots it keeps secreting on dry, calcareous and poor soils, even in summer drought. Pollen is moderate.
Flowering
In its second year it flowers from June to August, for 6-8 weeks. Together with white sweet clover (Melilotus albus) it is common on roadsides, abandoned land and railway embankments.
Honey and pollen
In North America and eastern Europe honey is harvested from it on a large scale. The honey is very light in colour, with a faint vanilla-like scent and a mild sweetness; it sets with a fine grain.
Note for the beekeeper
- It can be sown for green manure and soil improvement; it is a solid component of bee forage mixtures.
- Mouldy sweet clover hay can cause bleeding disorders in livestock; this does not apply to nectar and honey.