Relatives
Medicago rigidula Desr. - Hardish Medick.
Taxonomic position.
Family Fabaceae Lindl., genus Medicago L.Synonyms.
Medicago polymorpha var. rigidula L.Morphology and biology
Annual herbaceous plant. Stems 40 cm tall, procumbent. Leaflets obovate. Stipules ovate in outline, deeply pinnately cleft. Racemes 2-3-flowered. Corolla orange-yellow, 4-6 mm long. Pod barrel-shaped, 6-8 mm diameter, with 6-8 twists, pubescent, its spines straight, without grooves at base. Flowers in March, fruits in May. Autogamous plant. 2n=16.Distribution.
Black Sea area, Crimea, Caucasus, mountains of Central Asia.Ecology.
On stony slopes, weed in gardens, vineyard, at roadsides.Economic value.
May be used as forage plant in mountain areas.References:
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.