I have not seen this plant before.
It showed up in the October clean up, so it went through the September snowfall. It has to be a seed that blew in. Anyone know what it is?

The photo won't enlarge for me but it looks like some type of clover.

White sweet clover, Melilotus albus - extremely invasive (from seed) biennial weed, originally planted for hay and, I imagine, probably for honey bees as well?

Thank You! Now I will yank it.

The Melilotus albus plant which grows in my garden is about 4 or 5 feet tall. I grow it for bees and for tea.

Yes, mature plants are 3-4 feet tall here too.

Interesting; it looks like the plant in the photo is less than a foot tall and already in bloom. Learn something new every day I guess.

So people grow this for bees?
Now I do not know it is all that bad!
The plant is about 15 inches tall and does have a flower.

Sure, fine in your garden if you like it (although you could grow many much more ornamental plants that are equally attractive to bees, including native plants).
It takes over wild areas with abandon... take a walk through Bowmont Park some time. It, Melilotus officinalis and alfalfa are rampant there and along the disturbed borders of many grassland areas, but at least they smell nice when in bloom.

When you see a jar that says 'clover honey' this is the type of clover that allowed the bees to create the honey. Melilotus is one of the most popular plants for honey production in the world.

Yes, I agree, the Sweet Clovers may not be right for every backyard garden but they are good for bees and the bees are good for our food supply. Don't feel bad if you want to pull it out. If it's not a good fit for your garden the bees will understand; they are not all that fussy. (That being said, Bidens is also a popular honeybee plant; beekeepers love that stuff, but that won't sway me; I pull that Bidens out!!)

Melilotus (either the white or the yellow) also has medicinal value as, after the plant produces flowers the plant will contain a blood thinner - which is why I started growing the plant. I allow the plant to grow in one corner of my yard and it's easy to control. My neighbor next door grows a grass lawn and there is no Melilotus from my yard growing into his lawn.

Think that I will yank it.
I already have forget-me-nots, wallflowers and lamium in that bed.
Next spring I will sow dwarf bachelor buttons, and dwarf cosmos in any spaces.

But I am curious that it contains a blood thinner.
I take aspirin for that purpose.
There are a whole lot of good chemicals in the plants we grow.

It's a great bee plant.

I saw very few honey bees here early this summer, but when I went looking for them in the wilder places they were thickest on these blooms. I later found one of these plants growing out by the barn, and I'll be happy if it returns.

Sweet clover contains courmarin (not Coumadin) after the plant has produced flowers. Many plants have blood thinning properties, even strawberries have a bit. Anyone who takes prescription medicine should always check the details if they change their diet or start to eat new plants/herbs, etc.

Here is one example of a link: http://herbalmedicos.blogspot....

Without insurance and with little cash on hand I have been utilizing food as medicine for 2 years...knocking on wood all the while...so far it has been a success.

Interesting how plants contain many useful medicines.
That the plant attracts so many bees is useful.......I am on a city lot so can not grow everything.