Trifolium dentatum Waldstein & Kitaibel, Descr. Icon. Pl. Hung. 1: 41. 1802; Melilotus dentatus prol. sibiricus O. E. Schulz; M. dentatus subsp. sibiricus (O. E. Schulz) Suvorov.

Biennial herbs, glabrous. Stems erect, 20-50(-80) cm, te­rete, longitudinally ridged. Stipules lanceolate to narrowly trian­gular, 6-12 mm, base hastate, with 2 or 3 teeth or incised; peti­ole slender, usually shorter than leaflets; leaflets oblong-lanceo­late to suborbicular, 20-30 × 5-13 mm, lateral veins 15-20 pairs, parallel and branching into teeth, prominent on both sur­faces, especially obvious near margins, base rounded or cune­ate, apex rounded, apiculate. Racemes 3-5 cm, elongated to 8-10 cm when fruiting, scattered 20-50-flowered; pedicels ca. 1.5 mm. Corolla yellow, 3-4 mm; standard slightly longer than wings and keel. Ovary narrowly ovate; ovules 2. Legume glo­bose to ovoid, 4-5 × 2-2.5 mm, veins reticulate, gibbous on ventral suture, brown. Seeds 1 or 2, olive-green, globose, ca. 1.5 mm. Fl. Jun-Sep, fr. Jul-Oct.

Woodland margins, alkaline meadows. Gansu, Hebei, Heilong­jiang, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Xinjiang [C Asia, Europe].