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Medicago minima (L.)L.  

No occurrences found

Family: Fabaceae
little bur-clover
[Medicago minima var. compacta Neyraut, moreMedicago minima var. longiseta DC., Medicago minima var. pubescens Webb]
Medicago minima image
Max Licher
  • Gleason & Cronquist
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Vascular plants of NE US and adjacent Canada
Much like no. 3 [Medicago polymorpha L.], but softly pubescent throughout; stipules entire or minutely toothed; lvs often smaller and shorter-petiolate; peduncles surpassed by the subtending lvs; 2n=16. Native of Eurasia, established as a weed in sandy soil from se. Va. to Fla. and Tex., and occasionally adventive farther n. May-Sept.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

©The New York Botanical Garden. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Kearney and Peebles 1969, McDougall 1973
Duration: Annual Nativity: Non-Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Herbaceous annuals, to 40 cm tall, stems procumbent, branching from the base, herbage soft-pubescent. Leaves: Alternate, pinnately trifoliate, leaflets obovate to obcordate, 8-20 mm long, margins sharply denticulate, stipules narrow and entire or short-toothed, peduncles 5-25 mm long. Flowers: Yellow, with banner, wing, and keel petals (papilionaceous),4-5 mm long, keel petal shorter than the wing or banner petals, calyx campanulate with subequal teeth, stamens diadelphous (9 fused, 1 free), borne in groups of 2-5, peduncles slender, 5-25 mm long. Fruits: Pods coiled 2-3 times, 4-6 mm in diameter, with long prickles, these arising from a raised ridge in 2-3 rows, pubescent between between the prickles. Ecology: Unknown, but considered rare in Arizona, Texas, and California. Distribution: Widespread throughout North America. Notes: Naturalized from Europe. Differentiate from the similar M. hispida by the soft-pubescent herbage, the narrow, entire to short-toothed stipules, and the pods armed with long prickles, pubescent between the prickles. Ethnobotany: There is no use recorded for this species, but other species in this genus have uses. Etymology: Medicago is derived from Medike, or medick, the Greek name for alfalfa, which came to Greece from Medea, while minima means of diminutive size. Synonyms: None Editor: LCrumbacher 2012
Medicago minima
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Medicago minima image
Liz Makings
Medicago minima image
Liz Makings
Medicago minima image
Liz Makings
Medicago minima image
Max Licher
Medicago minima image
Russ Kleinman
Medicago minima image
Oren Thomas
Medicago minima image
Max Licher
Medicago minima image
Medicago minima image
Max Licher
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