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Stems
- To 1m tall, 4-angled, erect or ascending, glabrous to pubescent, multiple from base, branching, herbaceous, from taproot.
Leaves
- Alternate, trifoliolate, petiolate, stipulate. Stipules lanceolate, to +1cm long, toothed to entire. Leaflets typically oblanceolate, obovate or oblong, toothed to entire, to +2cm long, -1cm broad, typically mucronate, glabrous to sparse arachnoid pubescent below.
Inflorescence
- Compact axillary pedunculate racemes, with up to 40 flowers. Peduncle to +/-3cm long, typically pubescent. Cluster globose to subglobose.
Flowers
- Corolla purple to whitish, papilionaceous, to 1cm long. Standard to 1cm long, 5mm broad. Stamens diadelphous. Calyx tube to 5mm long, 2mm in diameter, 5-lobed, typically glabrous. Lobes attenuate, to 4mm long, equal to subequal.
Flower close-up.
Fruits
- Coiled pods to 8mm long.
Flowering
- May - September.
Habitat
- Waste ground, disturbed sites, roadsides, railroads. Also cultivated.
Origin
- Native to Eurasia.
Other info.
-
M. sativa
is the only species of
Medicago
in Missouri with purple flowers. As you can see from the above photos, the flowers are variable in color. The flowers of some cultivated plants can be greenish-yellow also. Some plants may also have fruits which are only slightly coiled to straight.
The plant is also quite variable in its pubescence.
Alfalfa is a very important crop because of its high protein content.
Photographs taken somewhere in North Carolina, 5-16-03.
Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913.
An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols.
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 351. Provided by
Kentucky Native Plant Society
. Scanned by
Omnitek Inc
.
Usage Requirements
.
Medicago sativa
alfalfa
This plant can be weedy or invasive according to the authoritative sources noted below.This plant may be known by one or more common names in different places, and some are listed above. Click on an acronym to view each weed list, or click here for a composite list of
Weeds of the U.S.
Using these photos:
A variety of organizations and individuals have contributed photographs to CalPhotos. Please follow the usage guidelines provided with each image. Use and copyright information, as well as other details about the photo such as the date and the location, are available by clicking on the
[detail]
link under the thumbnail. See also:
Using the Photos in CalPhotos
.
Number of matches
: 5
Query:
SELECT * FROM img WHERE ready=1 and taxon like "Medicago sativa ssp. sativa%" and (lifeform != "specimen_tag" OR lifeform != "Plant") ORDER BY taxon
Using these photos:
A variety of organizations and individuals have contributed photographs to CalPhotos. Please follow the usage guidelines provided with each image. Use and copyright information, as well as other details about the photo such as the date and the location, are available by clicking on the
[detail]
link under the thumbnail. See also:
Using the Photos in CalPhotos
.
Flower close-up.
Phylum Tracheophyta 
Class Magnoliopsida 
Flora of Taiwan 2nd ed. 3: 332, 1993;
Discover Life
National Plant Genetic Resources Center
Nature Campus
