Flora-Fauna

Medicago sativa L.

(Sp. Pl.: 778; 1753 – Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, Pl. CXL nº 2; 1966)

• Life-form & habit: Long-lived perennial herb (forb) with deep taproot and erect to ascending stems 30–80 (rarely 120) cm tall. Stems glabrous or sparsely pubescent, branched above, forming loose tufts or small bushes.

• Leaves: Trifoliolate; leaflets obovate to oblanceolate, 10–25 × 3–8 mm, finely denticulate in the upper third, glabrous or slightly pubescent beneath. Stipules ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, toothed at the base.

• Inflorescence & flowers: Axillary racemes compact, 1.5–3 cm long, with 10–25 flowers. Calyx 3–4 mm, teeth linear and subequal. Corolla papilionaceous, violet to bluish-purple (rarely yellowish), 6–8 mm long. Banner obovate, wings shorter, keel slightly incurved.

• Fruit: Pods coiled 2–3 times into a loose spiral, 5–8 mm in diameter, glabrous or slightly pubescent, brownish at maturity. Seeds reniform, yellowish-brown, smooth.

• Phenology: Flowers from April to September; fruits mature from June onward.

• Habitat & elevation: Dry meadows, fallow fields, roadsides, and cultivated land; grows on calcareous or loamy soils from sea level to 1 800 m. Frequently cultivated as a fodder crop (alfalfa or lucerne).

• Lebanese distribution: Cultivated and occasionally naturalised throughout Lebanon — Beqaa Valley, Mount Lebanon foothills, and coastal plains. Recorded by Mouterde from Zahlé, Dahr el-Baïdar, Barouk, and Jezzine.

• Native to: Algeria, France, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Krym, North Caucasus, NW. Balkan Pen., Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan (POWO).

• Introduced into: Afghanistan, Alabama, Alaska, Albania, Alberta, Altay, Amur, Angola, Argentina Northeast, Argentina South, Arizona, Arkansas, Austria, Baleares, Baltic States, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil South, British Columbia, Bulgaria, Buryatiya, California, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Central European Russia, Chad, Chatham Is., Chile Central, Chile North, Chile South, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Chita, Colombia, Colorado, Connecticut, Corse, Crozet Is., Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia-Slovakia, Delaware, Denmark, District of Columbia, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, East Aegean Is., East European Russia, East Himalaya, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, Florida, Free State, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hawaii, Hungary, Idaho, Illinois, India, Indiana, Inner Mongolia, Iowa, Ireland, Irkutsk, Japan, Jawa, Kansas, Kentucky, Kerguelen, Kermadec Is., Khabarovsk, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Kriti, KwaZulu-Natal, Labrador, Lebanon-Syria, Leeward Is., Libya, Louisiana, Madeira, Magadan, Maine, Manitoba, Marianas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mauritius, Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Mongolia, Montana, Morocco, Nebraska, Nepal, Netherlands, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Caledonia, New Guinea, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New South Wales, New York, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Newfoundland, North Carolina, North Dakota, North European Russia, Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Northwest European Russia, Northwest Territories, Norway, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oman, Ontario, Oregon, Pakistan, Palestine, Pennsylvania, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Primorye, Prince Edward I., Puerto Rico, Queensland, Québec, Rhode I., Romania, Sardegna, Saskatchewan, Saudi Arabia, Sicilia, Sinai, Somalia, South Australia, South Carolina, South Dakota, South European Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan-South Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Tasmania, Tennessee, Texas, Tibet, Tuva, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine, Uruguay, Utah, Venezuela, Vermont, Victoria, Virginia, Washington, West Himalaya, West Siberia, West Virginia, Western Australia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yakutiya, Yemen, Yukon (POWO).

• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Medicago sativa is the well-known alfalfa (lucerne), one of the world’s most extensively cultivated forage legumes. Distinguished by its violet to purple flowers, spirally coiled pods, and trifoliolate denticulate leaves. It hybridises naturally with M. falcata L. (the yellow-flowered wild alfalfa), forming numerous intermediate populations. The species likely originated in the Irano-Turanian region and spread westward through cultivation since antiquity. In Lebanon, naturalised populations are common along cultivated valleys and field margins.