Melilotus indica All.

 
  • Family : FABACEAE
    (Pea Or Bean Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : PALASH FAMILY (पलाश फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Leguminosae
  • Subfamily : Faboideae
  • Basionym : Trifolium indicum L.
  • Synonym(s) : Melilotus parviflorus Desf.; Sertula indica (L.) Kuntze
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Melilotus indicus (L.) All.
  • Common name : Small flowered Melilot, Indian Sweet Clover, Yellow sweet clover
  • Vernacular name :
    • Ban methi, Morila, Senji methi (Hindi)
    • Ran methi (Marathi)
    • Ban methi (Bengali)
    • Ban Methi (Assamese)
  • Habit : Herb
  • Habitat : A common winter weed in moist, watse places, along rivulets and in cultivated fields
  • Comments / notes : Weed of cultivated fields and wastelands; Used as green fodder
  • Key identification features : Annual herb; erect, branching, sparingly pilose annual.
  • Flower, Fruit : September-April
  • Distribution :
    • Karnataka : Bengaluru district, Mysuru district, Raichur district
    • Maharashtra : Akola district
    • Odisha : Puri district, Cuttack district, Sundergarh district, Khurda district
    • Tamil Nadu : Tirunelveli district, Thoothkudi district, Ramanathapuram district, Pudukkottai district, Thanjavur district, Tiruvallur district, Nagapattinam district, Cuddalore district, Kanchipuram (Changalpattu-CGP) district, Tiruvallur district
    • West Bengal : West Bengal
    • Delhi : Vasant Kunj
    • Haryana : Gurgaon district
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Punjab : Punjab
    • Rajasthan : Jaisalmer district, Barmer district, Bikaner district, Jodhpur district
  • Native : Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Baleares, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, China, Corse, Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, Bhutan, Egypt, France, Greece, Gulf States, Hainan, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kriti, Kuwait, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepa
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Introduced in N. America and South Africa
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1
    • Kamble & Pradhan, 1988. Flora of Akola District, Maharashtra. Botanical Survey of India
    • Cecil J. Saldanha, S. R. Ramesh (1984). Flora of Karnatka State vol. 1. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co, New Delhi
    • Ramaswamy & Razi, 1973 - Flora of Bangalore district, Karnataka state
    • Rao & Razi, 1981 – Mysore
    • Maheshwari K.J (1963). Flora of Delhi: 116
    • Duthie J.F.(1960). Flora of The Upper Gangetic Plain Vol.1: 191
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Melilotus indica. Downloaded on 10 October 2024.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

India Distribution

World Distribution

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