Relatives

Medicago daghestanica Rupr. - Dagestanian Medick.

Taxonomic position.

Family Fabaceae Lindl., genus Medicago L.

Morphology and biology.

Perennial herbaceous plant. Root system strong, branched, striking deep into the soil. Stems slender, quadrangular, ascending, numerous, lignescent at base, up to 40 cm tall. Stipules of lower leaves semi-sagittate, acute, with strongly prominent veins and several teeth in lower part; those of upper leaves narrower and often entire. Leaf blades 5-8 mm long, triangular-obovate or obcuneate, at the apex dentate and with a small emargination, somewhat rigid, glabrous, pubescent along midrib beneath, veins strongly prominent. Corolla 6-8 mm long, white, light blue or light violet. Standard broad, twice as wide as calyx; calyx broadly campanulate, pubescent, with thin subulate teeth. Inflorescence capitate, rather sparse, 4-6 flowers. Pod 3-5 mm diameter, cylindrical with flat surfaces, twisted 3-5 times, with glandular hairs or glabrous, with two deep longitudinal grooves and a few very short, thin, often curved spines at the outer margin of turns. Seeds small, dark brown. Flowers in June, fruits in July. Propagation system studied insufficiently. 2n=16

Distribution.

Caucasus. Endemic.

Ecology.

Occurs on calcareous screes and rocks in middle mountain zone.

Economic value.

May be used as grazing crop in mountain conditions. Winter-hardy. Species of interest in the context of evolution of the genus Medicago.

References:

Brezhnev DD., Korovina ON. 1981. Wild relatives of cultivated plants of the flora of the USSR. Leningrad: Kolos. 376 p. (In Russian).
Vassilchenko IT. 1949. Medick, the best forage plant. In: Acta Inst. Bot. Acad. Sci. URSS. Ser.1. V.8. Leningrad. P.7-20.
Goncharov PL., Lubenets PA. 1985. Biological aspects of medick cultivation. Novosibirsk: Nauka. 253 p. (In Russian).
Grossheim AA. 1945. Medick - Medicago L. In: Shishkin BK., ed. 1945. Flora URSS. V.11. P.129-176. (In Russian).
Grossheim AA. 1952. Flora of Caucasus. 2nd ed. V.5. P.177-192. (In Russian).
Sinskaya EN. 1950. Medick. In: Cultivated flora of the USSR. V.13, No.1. P.7-344. (In Russian).
Lesins KA., Lesins I. 1979. Genus Medicago (Leguminosae). A Taxogenetic Study. 228 p.

© N.I.Dzyubenko, E.A.Dzyubenko

© Photo by E.A.Dzyubenko