Not alfalfa? Plant ID Yellow Sweet Clover

I asked about these plants when they first showed up here, and was told they were alfalfa. I'm REALLY not sure at this point. Yellow flowers, not purple, and looking very scanty. Definitely a legume, nitrogen fixer, but I need to know if I'm harvesting them as fertilizer before they seed. I wanted alfalfa seed, that's why I let them roll over last winter so they would seed. Strange yellow stuff I may not want seeding.
The pictures should be expandable.

Thanks for any help!
:D

rub the flowerheads and smell your fingers. is it sweet and vanilla-ish? that would be some kind of sweet clover, Melilotus sp.

Nope. Doesn't smell like anything. Mom agrees.

well, we’ve ruled something out then! there are actually alfalfa species (aka other Medicago sp.) that have yellow flowers, but most of the pics i’m finding, the flowers aren’t in such loose sprays…hmm

I tried putting the images through a plant recognition website, and yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.) is the consensus (the photos without flowers came up as white sweet clover) - plantnet.org

Hm.. I looked close at their pictures. That might be right... but it doesn't smell when crushed, and the flowers that are pictured are WAY bigger than mine. Theirs look like flowers, mine look like scruffy yellow pipe cleaners..

If that's correct, I think I'm cutting them as fertilizer. They are too messy and unwieldy and not pretty to be growing in a confined space, and I have prettier legumes growing in there. I wanted some organic alfalfa seed for sprouting for sandwiches :)

Thank you both!  :D You both win!!   :D

Looks like yellow sweet clover to me.  Has interesting medicinal properties.  Leaves and flowers make a nice tea that has something reminiscent of a cinnamon aroma.

100% sure it is melilotus officinalis (sweet clover). The white variety has a far sweeter scent, but the yellow one is very popular with bees and other pollinators. The plant is native to Europe and Asia (some subspecies to Africa) therefore it might be unfamiliar to you.

I've known of yellow sweet clover for many years, that it was edible but one had to take care to NOT eat any that was moldy or anything less than fresh.  I've eaten a bit here and there over the years, but never did much with it.  Today I happened to notice the abundance of it growing nicely along the road in front of my place.  I also noticed that it's starting to produce lots of seeds and that this seed looks like it would be easy to harvest in large amounts.  As I've been looking for plants that produce lots of easily harvestable seeds for sprouting as food, this got my attention!

I just found Green Deane's write up about it.  It's rather interesting.  The part regarding the edible qualities he says:

The young leaves can be eaten raw, preferably before the plant blossoms. They are bitter and aromatic, usually used as flavoring in salads. The whole plant thoroughly dried can be used to make a tea with a hint of vanilla. The seeds can be used as a spice. Fermented or moldy clover should never be used. Lastly excess consumption can make you throw up. Use carefully and sparingly. Some people report getting a headache when they smell the plant.

Hmm...  I will probably look to harvest some of the seeds to try growing as sprouts, but will certainly limit how many of them I try initially.  If the sprouts are bitter then I probably wouldn't want to use them any way but sparingly, perhaps as a few added to a mix of sprouting seeds.