Contains 7 accepted taxa overall.
Characteristics
Classification
Citation
MEDICAGO Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 778. 1753, nom. cons.
-
TYPE: Medicago sativa Linnaeus, typ. cons.
Species
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Herbarium Specimens | Status | Photos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medicago arabica | SPOTTED MEDICK | Not Native | ||
| Medicago littoralis | COASTAL MEDICK; WATER MEDICK | Not Native | ||
| Medicago lupulina | BLACK MEDICK | Not Native UPL (NWPL) | ||
| Medicago minima | BURR MEDICK | Not Native | ||
| Medicago orbicularis | BLACKDISK MEDICK; BUTTON CLOVER | Not Native | ||
| Medicago polymorpha | BURR CLOVER | Not Native FACU (NWPL) | ||
| Medicago sativa | ALFALFA | Not Native UPL (NWPL) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cochleata | Cochleata Medikus, Philos. Bot. 1: 209. 1789. | TYPE: Non designatus. | |
| Diploprion | Diploprion Viviani, Fl. Libyc. Spec. 48. 1824. | TYPE: Diploprion medicaginoides Viviani | |
| Lupularia | Lupularia (Seringe) Opiz, Seznam 61. 1852. | BASIONYM: Medicago Linnaeus, sect. Lupularia Seringe, in de Candolle, Prodr. 2: 172. 1825. | TYPE: Lupularia parviflora Opiz, nom. illegit. (Medicago lupulina Linnaeus) = Medicula Medikus 1787. |
| Lupulina | Lupulina Noulet, Fl. Bass. Sous-Pyren. 156. 1837. | TYPE: Lupulina aurata Noulet (Medicago lupulina Linnaeus) = Medicula Medikus 1787. | |
| Medica | Medica Miller, Gard. Dict. Abr., ed. 4. 1754. | TYPE: Non designatus. | |
| Medicula | Medicula Medikus, Vorles. Churpfälz. Phys.-0kon. Ges. 2: 386. 1787. | TYPE: Medicula lupulina (Linnaeus) Medikus (Medicago lupulina Linnaeus) | |
| Pseudomelissitus | Pseudomelissitus Ovczinnikov et al., in Ovczinnikov, Fl. Tadzhiksk. SSR 5: 328, 629. 1978. | TYPE: Pseudomeilssitus radiatus (Linnaeus) Ovczinnikov et al. (Medicago radiata Linnaeus) = Radiata Medikus 1789. | |
| Radiata | Radiata Medikus, Philos. Bot. 1: 208. 1789. | TYPE: Medicago radiata Linnaeus = Medicago Linnaeus 1753, by lectotypification. | |
| Spirocarpus | Spirocarpus Opiz, Seznam 93. 1852. | BASIONYM: Based on Medicago Linnaeus, sect. Spirocarpos Seringe, in de Candolle, Prodr. 2: 174. 1825. | TYPE: Spirocarpus minimus (Linnaeus) Opiz (Medicago polymorpha Linnaeus, var. minima Linnaeus) Lectotypified by Holub & Pouzar, Folia Geobot. Phytotax. 2: 414. 1967. |
| Trifillium | Trifillium Medikus, Vorles. Churpfälz. Phys.-Okon. Ges. 2: 383. 1787. | TYPE: Trifillium platycarpos (Linnaeus) Medikus (Trigonella platycarpos Linnaeus) |