242. Melilotus, N.F.—Sweet Clover.
Botanical name:
242. MELILOTUS, N.F.—SWEET CLOVER. The flowering tops of Melilo'tus officina'lis Willdenow. The small yellowish or white flowers are in a close, rounded raceme on an angular stem; leaves serrate, trifoliate; odor fragrant, honey-like; taste aromatic and bitter. They contain melilotol (a fragrant volatile oil), coumarin (the aromatic principle of tonka), cumaric acid, and melilotic (hydrocumaric) acid, having a honey-like odor. An infusion is used as a stimulant and antispasmodic in whooping-cough, but it is generally used as a local anodyne in poultices.
