Melilotus siculus (Turra) B.D. Jacks.

Spice In the field

Family: LEGUMINOSAE

Genus: Melilotus

Sinònims: Melilotus messanensis (L.) All.

Province distribution: Balearic Islands. Barcelona. Girona.

Distribution in the islands: Mallorca. Menorca. Ibiza. Cabrera.

General distribution (Phytogeography): Mediterranean

IUCN Category: DDData deficient

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Terophyte.

Habitats: Litoral marshes and riparian. Non-saline wetlands (intermittent watercourses, streams, artesian wells, ditches). Marshes, humid soils.

Characteristics: An annual cycle herb that can reach half a metre in height; very branched from the base. It has trifoliate leaves as all the other species of the genus. The flowers are small, yellow, and grouped in quite compact inflorescences on a leaf-stalk that supports them. The most important feature to distinguish it is the fruit, the largest of the different species of Melilotus in the islands (nearly a centimetre), pendulous and covered with concentric striation. It lives in grasslands next to moist zones in brackish soils. It flowers in spring.