Family |
Fabaceae
Medicago falcata
L.
Medicago falcata L.
First published in Sp. Pl.: 779 (1753).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 255, Pl. XCIX, 1; 1970)
Description
Life-form & habit: Perennial with appressed hairs and branched, ascending or erect stems, 30–50 cm tall.
Leaves: Short-stalked, with lanceolate leaflets, blunt or slightly notched at the tip and shallowly toothed. Stipules taper to narrow points.
Inflorescence & flowers: Short, dense racemes of distinctly stalked yellow to golden-yellow flowers, 8–10 mm long. The slightly bristly calyx has narrow teeth longer than its tube.
Fruit: Unarmed, hairy pod with a pointed tip, curved into a semicircle or sometimes a complete circle.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering May–July.
Habitat & elevation: Grassy places, especially in the mountains.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Douma, Sofar, Baadaran–Togra pass, the pass between Machghara and Jezzine, Jabal Kneisse, Khan Sannine, Jourd Hasroun, Ehden, the Cedars and Baskinta.
Syrian distribution: Bhamra, the Cassius region and Kessab.
Native range: Afghanistan, Albania, Assam, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, China North-Central, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, East Himalaya, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, India, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Manchuria, Mongolia, Nepal, Netherlands, North Caucasus, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qinghai, Romania, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tadzhikistan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, West Himalaya, Xinjiang.
Introduced into: Alabama, Alaska, Alberta, Altay, Amur, Argentina South, Arizona, Arkansas, British Columbia, Buryatiya, California, Cape Provinces, Chita, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Finland, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ireland, Irkutsk, Japan, Kentucky, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Louisiana, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Morocco, Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Provinces, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Primorye, Prince Edward I., Québec, Saskatchewan, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Tuva, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Siberia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yakutiya, Yukon.