Medicago arabica
Medicago truncatula
burclover, southern bur-clover, southern burr clover, spotted burclover, spotted burrclover, spotted medic, spotted medick
barrel clover, barrel clover or medic, barrel medick
procumbent to ascending.
procumbent to ascending.
blades cuneate, obovate, or obcordate, 8–25 × 7–20 mm, margins serrate on distal 1/3, often with conspicuous central, purple-red (anthocyanin) blotch adaxially.
blades cuneate to obovate, 8–15 × 7–12 mm, margins serrate on distal 1/2, rarely incised or laciniate.
(1 or)2–5(–8)-flowered, racemes.
1–3(–5)-flowered, racemes.
4–5(–6) mm;
calyx pubescent, hairs eglandular, sometimes multicellular and gland-tipped, lobes equal to or longer than tube;
corolla yellow, 2 times length of calyx.
6–8 mm;
calyx pubescent, hairs eglandular, lobes longer than tube;
corolla yellow, less than 2 times length of calyx.
with 3–5(–7) coils, shortly ellipsoid to subglobose (ends rounded), or discoid to cylindriform (ends flattened), (4–)5–9 × (4–)5–7(–8) mm, glabrous, margin usually prickly, sometimes tuberculate, prickles, when present, often relatively thin and flexible, base 2-rooted, 1 root arising in dorsal suture, other in submarginal vein;
faces soft, coil face with venation anastomosing considerably on outer 1/3, coil edge in end view shows central groove flanked by lateral grooves to form pattern of 3 grooves separating 4 ridges, not visible in side view of coil.
with 2.5–8 coils, coils often strongly adpressed, usually cylindrical, 6–12 × 7–12 mm, often pubescent, sometimes glabrescent, hairs eglandular, margin usually prickly, rarely prickleless, prickles often at 90° to plane of coil, pointed to ends of pod, very stocky and difficult to bend, base often round, 2 roots often apparent at maturity;
faces very hard at maturity, coil face with slightly branched and anastomosing veins, veins weakly to moderately curved.
2+, yellow or yellow-brown, reniform, 2–3.5 × 1.2–1.5 mm;
radicle usually slightly more than 1/2 seed length.
2–25, yellow or brownish yellow, reniform, 2.5–4.5 × 1.3–2.5 mm;
radicle less than 1/2 seed length.
margins deeply dentate to lobed.
margins deeply dentate to laciniate.
= 16.
= (14) 16.
Medicago arabica
Medicago truncatula
Medicago arabica is sown for forage only to a small extent.
Although the majority of Medicago plants cannot be identified to species with much certainty without fruits, in most cases vegetative plants with purplish blotches on the centers of the leaflets will be this species. However, these markings occur occasionally on other annual species of Medicago and are absent from some plants of M. arabica.
Medicago maculata Sibthorp and M. maculata Willdenow are illegitimate names that pertain here.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Medicago truncatula is the most important annual forage species of the genus, next in agricultural importance only to M. sativa (alfalfa). It is grown in Australia and other Mediterranean climate regions around the world. The species is also being developed as a model legume plant in both classical and molecular genetic studies to elucidate the functions of its genes and to exploit its genome to improve seed quality and production of specific secondary metabolites.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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