Relatives
Melilotus tauricus (Bieb.) Ser. - Crimean melilot.
Taxonomic position.
Family Fabaceae Lindl., genus Melilotus Mill.Main synonyms:
M. besserianus Ser., M. imbricatus Ser., M. glaucescens Godet ex Stev.Morphology and biology.
Biennial plant. Stems pale green or glaucous, straight, branched, 30-80 cm tall, glabrous or weakly pubescent. Stipules subulate. Leaflets rhomboid, obovate or oblong-cuneate, somewhat obtuse at the apex. Inflorescence a lax raceme 5-10 cm long, elongating in fruit. Flowers 5-7 mm long, pendant. Calyx about 3 mm long, pubescent, incised down to half. Calyx teeth linear-lanceolate, acuminate. Corolla white. Standard, wings and keel of the same length. Ovary stipitate, pubescent with short adpressed hairs, with two ovaries. Young pods hairy, mature glabrous, 4-7 mm long. Pod valves light brown when mature, plicately wrinkled. Seeds smooth, about 2,5 mm long, light brown, 1, rarely 2 in a pod. Flowers in June - July, fruits in July - August. Entomophilous. Zoochore. 2n=16.Distribution.
General distribution: Asia Minor. Former USSR: European part - Crimea, the South coast, often. Solitary records in Simferopol environs and Kerch.Ecology.
Mountain slopes, screes, shrubberies, coastal rocks, vineyards, rarely roadsides.Use and economic value.
Wild relative of cultivated melilot species. Forage.References:
Fedorov AA., Tzvelev NN., ed. 1987. Flora of the European part of the USSR. V.6. Leningrad: Nauka. P.181. (In Russian).Shishkin BK., ed. 1945. Flora URSS. V.11. P.188. (In Russian).
Cherepanov SK. 1995. Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR). St.Petersburg. 990 p. (In Russian).