White Sweetclover (Melilotus albus)
(c) Anton Gjeldum, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Anton Gjeldum · CC BY-NC 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)
Flowering plantsIn Ohio

White Sweetclover

Melilotus albus Medik.

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Order
Fabales
Family
Fabaceae

Introduced and invasive status

Introduced in Ohio: iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)

Also listed

  • Introduced and assessed as invasive in the lower 48 states

iNaturalist's volunteer curators list it as introduced in their Ohio checklist.

US-RIIS assesses a species as invasive when it causes, or is likely to cause, harm there, or is at least locally abundant and harmful ecologically, economically, or to health.

Status: Simpson A, Sellers E, Pagad S (2023). United States Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (US-RIIS), ver. 2.0. U.S. Geological Survey, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9KFFTOD (opens in a new tab)

We remember your county on this device only, until you clear it. Your ZIP code, city or location never leaves your device.

Range

Where it is recorded

Season shown in 1 of Ohio's 88 counties. Explore Ohio

  • No result yet (26)
  • Recorded, too few records for a result (55)
  • Recorded, season not shown (6)
  • Season shown (1)
Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files, 1:500,000. Show as a table
Counties as a table
White Sweetclover by Ohio county: records and mapped range
CountyRecords
Adams CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Allen CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Ashland CountyNo qualifying records yet
Ashtabula CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Athens County23 · Recorded, season not shown
Auglaize CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Belmont CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Brown CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Butler CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Carroll CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Champaign CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Clark CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Clermont CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Clinton CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Columbiana CountyNo qualifying records yet
Coshocton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Crawford CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Cuyahoga County55 · Recorded, season not shown
Darke CountyNo qualifying records yet
Defiance CountyNo qualifying records yet
Delaware CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Erie CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Fairfield CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Fayette CountyNo qualifying records yet
Franklin County50 · Season shown
Fulton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Gallia CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Geauga CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Greene CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Guernsey CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Hamilton County44 · Recorded, season not shown
Hancock CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Hardin CountyNo qualifying records yet
Harrison CountyNo qualifying records yet
Henry CountyNo qualifying records yet
Highland CountyNo qualifying records yet
Hocking CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Holmes CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Huron CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Jackson CountyNo qualifying records yet
Jefferson CountyNo qualifying records yet
Knox CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Lake County29 · Recorded, season not shown
Lawrence CountyNo qualifying records yet
Licking CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Logan CountyNo qualifying records yet
Lorain CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Lucas County35 · Recorded, season not shown
Madison CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Mahoning CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Marion CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Medina CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Meigs CountyNo qualifying records yet
Mercer CountyNo qualifying records yet
Miami CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Monroe CountyNo qualifying records yet
Montgomery CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Morgan CountyNo qualifying records yet
Morrow CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Muskingum CountyNo qualifying records yet
Noble CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Ottawa CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Paulding CountyNo qualifying records yet
Perry CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Pickaway CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Pike CountyNo qualifying records yet
Portage CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Preble CountyNo qualifying records yet
Putnam CountyNo qualifying records yet
Richland CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Ross CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Sandusky CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Scioto CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Seneca CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Shelby CountyNo qualifying records yet
Stark CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Summit County45 · Recorded, season not shown
Trumbull CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Tuscarawas CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Union CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Van Wert CountyNo qualifying records yet
Vinton CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Warren CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Washington CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Wayne CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Williams CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Wood CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Wyandot CountyRecorded, too few records for a result

No mapped range from the range source used, the USGS Gap Analysis Project, which maps land vertebrates only.

Season

When it is recorded

In Ohio

Mid-June to mid-September, middle week Jul 12–18

Show over the bars
Recording in Ohio · records of all species each week, 1,691,199 in all

Records per week from 714 records in 10 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025. Shows when people recorded it, not how common it is. The grey bars show how many records of all species were made here each week, so you can see when recording itself was high or low; the season is not adjusted by them.

Recorded on 425 dates. Latest record: November 2025.

Show as a table
Records of White Sweetclover in Ohio each week, and records of all species
WeekRecords of White SweetcloverYears recordedRecords of all species
Jan 4–10006,211
Jan 11–17005,146
Jan 18–24004,645
Jan 25–31004,698
Feb 1–7006,023
Feb 8–14005,888
Feb 15–21005,436
Feb 22–28006,846
Mar 1–7008,321
Mar 8–140010,384
Mar 15–210012,620
Mar 22–280013,949
Mar 29 – Apr 40019,661
Apr 5–110026,860
Apr 12–180039,925
Apr 19–250041,623
Apr 26 – May 20056,391
May 3–90052,952
May 10–160053,785
May 17–231157,698
May 24–300054,651
May 31 – Jun 67453,099
Jun 7–1314553,700
Jun 14–2027756,625
Jun 21–2755955,361
Jun 28 – Jul 41001058,477
Jul 5–11921061,336
Jul 12–1889964,722
Jul 19–25761069,753
Jul 26 – Aug 153959,416
Aug 2–857959,712
Aug 9–1531855,994
Aug 16–2233854,328
Aug 23–299451,772
Aug 30 – Sep 519857,167
Sep 6–1210559,075
Sep 13–1914754,543
Sep 20–263245,860
Sep 27 – Oct 34343,180
Oct 4–102237,841
Oct 11–173330,824
Oct 18–241121,156
Oct 25–312219,021
Nov 1–75414,172
Nov 8–142112,621
Nov 15–21007,965
Nov 22–28548,136
Nov 29 – Dec 5006,083
Dec 6–12006,004
Dec 13–19005,423
Dec 20–26005,661
Dec 27 – Jan 2008,459

Reported in flower

No flowering season shown here. The weeks are still too uncertain to show a season.

Reported in fruit

Only 3 records here show fruit, too few to show a fruiting season. One needs at least 20 records from 5 different years.

What these results show

These results show when people recorded a species, not when or where it occurs. Missing weeks and low counts do not mean absence or scarcity, and counts are not abundance. Contributed records reflect where, when and what people chose to observe.

Relatives

In the same genus

Other Melilotus recorded in Ohio

Identification

How to identify it

Telling it apart

From what Ohio’s records show. Only what the records support is shown.

Often confused with

  • white clover Trifolium repens215 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Yellow Sweetclover Melilotus officinalis143 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Red Clover Trifolium pratense90 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Alfalfa Medicago sativa65 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • white vervain Verbena urticifolia32 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant

From iNaturalist’s similar-species counts, refreshed monthly: confusions in Ohio first, then worldwide. Only species with an Ohio result are listed.

Months not reported

  1. Jan: no record
  2. Feb: no record
  3. Mar: no record
  4. Apr: no record
  5. May: recorded
  6. Jun: recorded
  7. Jul: recorded
  8. Aug: recorded
  9. Sep: recorded
  10. Oct: recorded
  11. Nov: recorded
  12. Dec: no record

Not reported in Ohio in December to April, 2016 to 2025.

Land cover where it is recorded

Land coverIts recordsAll Ohio records
Developed57%49%
Farmland20%11%
Forest16%31%
Barren2%0.6%
Wetland2%5%
Open water1%3%
Grassland and shrub1%0.9%

From 437 records placed within 100 m, beside all Ohio records placed the same way. People record where they go, so this shows where records come from, not where the species lives. Land cover: USGS Annual NLCD, 2025 (opens in a new tab)

Sources

Where these results come from

  • Records from iNaturalist research-grade observations and expert-identified GBIF datasets, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC. Sources
  • Seasons use the published method and its evidence thresholds. Methods
  • See it on iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)OpenPhenology is independent and not affiliated with iNaturalist.

Records behind the Ohio result

714 records from 2 datasets.

To cite: the GBIF download doi:10.15468/dl.y2jkt8 (opens in a new tab).

A spreadsheet (CSV) with a link to each record, on iNaturalist or GBIF. Records whose location was hidden by the observer or the source are counted but not linked.