Family: Fabaceae

High Risk Traits:

• Broad climate suitability
  
• Grows in temperate to tropical climates
  
• Naturalized on Hawaii, Maui, Molokai and Midway Island; widely naturalized elsewhere
  
• Agricultural weed
  
• Environmental weed
  
• Other Melilotus species are invasive weeds
  
• Allelopathic
  
• Can be toxic to animals
  
• Host of 28 viral plant diseases
  
• Tolerates many soil types
  
• Forms dense patches that can exclude other vegetation
  
• Reproduces by seed
  
• Self-fertile
  
• Can reach maturity in <1 year (but often >1 growing season)
  
• Seeds dispersed by water, internally by animals, as a contaminant of other crops and seed mixes and intentionally by people
  
• Prolific seed production
  
• Forms a persistent seed bank
  
• May tolerate fire and cutting at certain growth stages

Low Risk Traits:

• Unarmed (no spines, thorns, or burrs)
  
• Provides fodder for livestock (palatable despite reports of toxicity)
  
• N-fixing (improves soil fertility)
  
• Not reported to spread vegetatively
  
• Beneficial to bees and other pollinators