Medicago lupulina |
Medicago sativa |
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black medic, hop clover |
alfalfa, lucerne |
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Habit | Plants annual, 10–45(80) cm. | Plants perennial, 20–80 cm, glabrous to puberulent. |
Stems | pubescent. |
decumbent to erect, glabrous to puberulent. |
Leaves | sub-palmate; leaflets obovate; length ? width, 7–13(20) mm, bases cuneate; margins distally serrate; veins prominent; tips obtuse to rounded; surfaces slightly pubescent; more so abaxially; petioles 2–10(15) mm; petiolules 0.5–4 mm; stipules 4–8 mm; margins entire or toothed. |
sub-palmate; leaflets narrowly lanceolate to obovate; length > width, 8–29 mm, bases cuneate; margins distally serrate; veins prominent; tips truncate to rounded; surfaces pubescent; petioles 3–15 mm; petiolules 1–6 mm; stipules 6–14 mm; margins entire to sharply toothed. |
Inflorescences | 10–20-flowered; ovoid, 7–20 × 5–8 mm; peduncles 10–30 mm; pedicels 0.8–1 mm. |
8–30-flowered; ovoid to oblong; peduncles 8–40 mm; pedicels 1–3 mm. |
Flowers | calyces 1–1.5 mm; corollas 2–3 mm, yellow. |
calyces 4–5.5 mm; corollas 8–10 mm, violet or variegated yellow-violet. |
Fruits | reniform, 2.5–3 × 2–2.5 mm, becoming black with age, glabrous to pubescent, strongly concentric-veined, unarmed. |
spirally coiled 2–3 turns, rarely sickle-shaped, with doughnut-like hole visible in center of coils, 3–5 mm, villous, unarmed. |
Seeds | 1; oval to reniform, 1.5–2 × 1–1.2 mm, yellow to olive-green. |
several, reniform, 1–2.5 × 1–1.5 mm, yellow; brownish; greenish yellow or violet-brown. |
2n | = 16,32. |
=16, 32. |
Medicago lupulina |
Medicago sativa |
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Distribution | ||
Discussion | Riparian areas, meadows, lawns, roadsides, disturbed areas. Flowering May–Jul. 0–1600 m. All ecoregions. CA, ID, NV, WA; worldwide. Exotic. Medicago lupulina is characterized by dense, ovoid inflorescences consisting of ten or more tiny yellow flowers. This is the only species of Medicago in Oregon with one-seeded fruits. |
Sandy or rocky areas, riparian areas, fields, roadsides, disturbed areas. Flowering Jun–Aug. 0–1500 m. BR, Casc, Col, CR, ECas, Lava, Sisk, WV. CA, ID, NV, WA; worldwide. Exotic. Medicago sativa is the only Oregon species with purple or variegated flowers and with coiled, non-spiny fruits containing several seeds. It also has the largest flowers (approaching 1 cm in length) and more flowers per inflorescence than most of our other species. Medicago sativa is commonly used as a cover crop or green manure. |
Source | Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 707 Nurul Khalib, Melanie Link-Perez |
Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 709 Nurul Khalib, Melanie Link-Perez |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Medicago sativa ssp. sativa | |
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