Yellow flowers bloom in spring and summer and produce fruit in pods typically containing one seed.

[4][5] M. officinalis is native to Europe and Asia and has been introduced to North America as a forage crop.

[6] Common places where it can be found include open disturbed land, prairies, and savannahs, and it grows in full or partial sunlight.

[3] Sweet clover contains coumarin that converts to dicoumarol, which is a powerful anticoagulant toxin, when the plant becomes moldy.

[9] It is most palatable in spring and early summer, but livestock may need time to adjust to the bitter taste of coumarin in the plant.