| Agronomy 105's Weed ID | |
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Sweetclover |
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| Sweetclover was originally introduced as a soil-building crop and is still used for this purpose in some instances. This nitrogen fixing plant has a biennial life cycle and puts down a large, stout tap root. Sweetclover is divided into yellow and white types based on the color of the flowers. The sweetclover plant will grow to a height of 5 to 6 feet under ideal conditions. | 
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Each sweetclover leaf contains 3 leaflets. The leaf margins will be serrated or notched along their entire margin. |
| Seedling sweetclover is sometimes confused with alfalfa, but because alfalfa leaf margins are only notched on the tip 1/3 of its margins, these two species are easy to differentiate. The leaves and stems of Sweetclover contain a very toxic substance called Coumarone which is used in the making of rat poison. Coumarone causes a thinning of the blood in mammals which prevents clotting and can lead to death. If livestock species such as cattle and sheep consume enough sweetclover they too may be poisoned. An animal that is poisoned by sweetclover will become listless and will eventually die due to internal hemorrhaging. |  |
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The seeds of sweetclover are small, kidney-shaped and green to greenish-yellow in color. |