3688.000 Medicago L.

Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. (1989) Flora of the British Isles. 3rd edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

Martins, E.S. et al. (2003) Papilionoideae Flora Zambesiaca 3(7)

Description of the genus

Annual or perennial herbs. Leaves 3-foliolate, the veins ending in marginal teeth. Stipules adnate to the petiole. Flowers yellow (less often blue to purple), borne in axillary racemes. Calyx teeth 5, subequal. Pod usually spirally coiled and indehiscent, sometimes spiny. Seeds 1-several.

Derivation of name: From a Persian name for a grass (strangely!)

Worldwide: 85 species in Europe, W. Asia and N. Africa.

Zimbabwe: 2 cultivated taxa.

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Links to cultivated taxa    View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesContent
polymorpha L. var. polymorpha
sativa L.

Other sources of information about Medicago:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Medicago
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Medicago
Flora of Zimbabwe: Medicago

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Medicago
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Medicago
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Medicago
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Medicago
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Medicago
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Medicago
JSTOR Plant Science: Medicago
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Medicago
Plants of the World Online: Medicago
Tropicos: Medicago
Wikipedia: Medicago

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2002-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Zimbabwe: Cultivated plants: genus page: Medicago.
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/cult/genus.php?genus_id=717, retrieved 29 March 2024

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