Relatives
Medicago minima (L.) Bartalini - Bur Medick.
Taxonomic position.
Family Fabaceae Lindl., genus Medicago L.Synonyms.
Medicago polymorpha var. minima L.Morphology and biology.
Annual herbaceous plant. Stems 40 cm tall, slender, pubescent. Stipules rather large, broadly ovate, entire or with 1-2 broadly triangular projections at margin. Leaflets obovate. Inflorescences 1-3-flowered racemes. Corolla 3-5 mm long, yellow. Pod 4-5 mm diameter, with 3-5 twists, densely covered with rather long, straight, in upper part hook-shaped prickles. Flowers in June, fruits in July. Autogamous plant. 2n=16.Distribution.
Southern European Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, Crimea, Caucasus, Central Asia.Ecology.
In forest glades and fringes, on exposed stony slopes, sands, in steppes, quite often weed in fields, roadsides.Economic value.
May be used as pasture plant on insufficient lands.References:
Vassilchenko IT. 1949. Medick, the best forage plant. In: Acta Inst. Bot. Acad. Sci. URSS. Ser.1. V.8. Leningrad. P.7-240.Galushko AI. 1980. Flora of the North Caucasus: Handbook. V.2. 352 p. (In Russian).
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).
Vassilchenko IT. 1987. Medick - Medicago L. In: Fedorov AA., Tzvelev NN., eds. Flora of the European part of the USSR. V.6. P.187-195. (In Russian).
Khasanov OKh. 1972. Wild medicks of Central Asia. Tashkent: FAN. 169 p. (In Russian).
Lesins KA., Lesins I. 1979. Genus Medicago (Leguminosae). A taxogenetic study. 228 p.
Meusel H. et al. 1965. Vergleichende Chorologie der Zentraleuropischen Flora. Jena. 583 p.