Contains 5 accepted taxa overall.
Characteristics
Classification
Citation
MEDICAGO Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 778. 1753, nom. cons.
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TYPE: Medicago sativa Linnaeus, typ. cons.
Species
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Herbarium Specimens | Status | Photos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medicago arabica | Spotted Medick, Spotted Bur-clover | |||
| Medicago laciniata | Cutleaf Medick | |||
| Medicago lupulina | Black Medick, Yellow Trefoil | |||
| Medicago minima | Downy Bur-clover, Bur Medick, Little Bur Clover | |||
| Medicago polymorpha | Smooth Bur-clover, Toothed Medick |
Identification Key
1. Corolla 2-3 mm long; fruit reniform, black, with 1 seed
1. Corolla 3-11 mm long; fruit spirally coiled, with multiple seeds
2
2. Plant perennial with a stout taproot; corolla purplish (rarely yellow, green, or white), 6-11 mm long; fruit without prickles
2. Plant annual with a slender taproot; corolla yellow; fruit with or without prickles
3
3. Stems and leaves moderately to densely villous or villosulous
4
3. Stems and leaves glabrous to sparsely pubescent
5
4. Stipules entire to shallowly denticulate; fruit prickles 50-80, slender and grooved
4. Stipules strongly toothed or lobed or laciniate; fruit prickles 20-35, the prickles stout and subterete
5. Stipules deeply divided to nearly to the base; fruit without prickles, 10-15 mm wide, with papery edges; seed surface roughened or tuberculate
5. Stipules strongly toothed or lobed or laciniate; fruit with prickles, the body 5-10 mm wide (excluding prickles), lacking papery edges; seed surface not roughened
5
6. Leaflets sometimes with a central dark reddish spot; stipules toothed to shallowly laciniate, teeth or lobes triangular-acuminate and shorter than the body; fruit coil edge with central groove flanked by lateral grooves forming a pattern of 3 grooves separating 4 ridges
6. Leaflets without a central spot; stipules deeply laciniate, the lobes filiform-acuminate, mostly subequal to longer than the body; fruit coil edge lacking a pattern of 3 grooves separating 4 ridges
Genus Synonyms
| Synonym | Full Citation | Basionym | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| No synonyms found. | |||