UW Burke Herbarium species comparison

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Medicago sativa

Medicago monspeliaca

alfalfa, lucerne
Habit Usually glabrous perennial from a long taproot, the stems more or less erect, 3-10 dm. tall.
Leaves

Leaves trifoliate, the leaflets elliptic-oblanceolate, finely dentate on the outer end, 2-4 cm. long. stipules entire.

Flowers

Inflorescence of dense racemes on peduncles 1-3 cm, long arising in the leaf axils;

flowers 20-100, usually bluish-purple, but often whitish, yellow, or even pink;

calyx 5-toothed, nearly as long as the corolla;

corolla pea-like, 4-5 mm. long, the banner erect, much longer than the wings and keel.

Fruits

Pod many-seeded, coiled in 2-3 spirals, not armed.

Medicago sativa

Medicago monspeliaca
Flowering time May-October
Habitat Roadsides, fields, wastelots, and other disturbed, open areas; often escaping from commercial cultivation.
Distribution
Widely distributed on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Atlantic Coast.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
[BONAP county map]
Origin Introduced
Conservation status Not of concern
Sibling taxa
M. arabica, M. lupulina, M. minima, M. polymorpha
M. arabica, M. lupulina, M. minima, M. polymorpha, M. sativa
Subordinate taxa
M. sativa ssp. falcata, M. sativa ssp. sativa, M. sativa ssp. ×varia
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the University of Washington's Burke Herbarium.



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Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

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