​White Sweet Clover, Honey Clover, Bee Clover, White Melilot,Melilotus albus,Pea Family (Fabaceae)

The Bloom Blog
Blooming this week in the environs of Abiquiú
By Wildflowers of the Southern Rocky Mountains

Found in disturbed soil, roadsides, streambanks
Seen blooming in June in Red Wash Canyon

White Sweet Clover grows with an airy, bushy habit to six feet tall with many branches and tiny, fragrant, white flowers growing in long clusters. Leaves are divided into three leaflets. It could be mistaken for alfalfa before it blooms. It is not native to North America and was introduced from Europe as a forage crop, and is now used to stabilize bare slopes, for soil-building, and is planted by beekeepers for the nectar of its flowers. It likes fire and can erupt in an explosion of growth following a burn. The young leaves can be eaten raw, preferably before the plant blossoms. They are bitter and aromatic, usually used as flavoring in salads. The whole plant thoroughly dried can be used to make a tea with a hint of vanilla. The seeds can be used as a spice. Fermented or moldy clover should never be used. Source. It has been considered a medicinal plant since ancient times; Hippocrates, the father of medicine, used Sweet Clover herb to treat skin ulcers. Sweet Clover produces a coumarin compound that can be converted to dicoumarin, which is used medicinally as a blood thinner and an anticoagulant in rat poisons. It has also been used medicinally to treat external and internal inflammation and stomach and intestinal ulcers. Sweet Clover inflorescences have been used in eye lotions. Source

If you are trying to identify a different flower then you can check what other flowers bloom this month. If you cannot identify a flower from the website, send a photo and where you took it to [email protected]. Read online for tips.