Family |
Fabaceae
Medicago rotata
Boiss.
Medicago rotata Boiss.
First published in Diagn. Pl. Orient. 2: 24 (1843).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, pp. 257–258, Pl. XCIX, 7; 1970)
Description
Life-form & habit: Annual, 20–40 cm tall, with sparse, short, appressed hairs.
Leaves: Obovate-oblong, toothed leaflets, those of the lowest leaves slightly truncate; stipules are toothed.
Inflorescence & flowers: Flower stalks exceed the leaves and carry 1–3 flowers, ending in a short bristle. The orange-yellow corolla reaches 5 mm and scarcely exceeds the calyx teeth.
Fruit: Hairless, cylindrical pod with four contiguous coils and flat or slightly convex faces, faintly net-veined. Its raised margin bears short, perpendicular spines.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering March–April.
Habitat & elevation: Fields and rocky ground.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Ras Bayada, Kfar Tibnit–Jisr el Khardali, Jisr el Khardali, Nabatiye, Abey, Tourzaya, Beqaa, Rayak, east of Chtaura, Aytanit and Kornet Chehwan.
Syrian distribution: Aleppo, Rastane, Homs, Afrine, Azaz, Jabal Semaan, Homs–Kafer Aya, Mezze, Qneitra road, Adra, north of Wadi Qandil, Karatchok Dagh, east of Qamechliye, Bosra, Khabab, Soueida, Sale and west of Salkhad. Mouterde's var. eliezeri is also recorded south of Deir Baalbe, at Jilline and Fiq.
Native range: Cyprus, Iraq, Lebanon-Syria, Palestine, Türkiye.
Introduced into: Morocco.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Kew includes Mouterde's Medicago rotata var. eliezeri Eig within the accepted species. Mouterde's questioned association with Medicago galilaea var. incisa is not treated here as a verified synonym.