Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Black Medic
Medicago lupulina
Pea family (Fabaceae)

This is a very common native of Europe and Asia, now often used for roadside reseeding in the United States. It is quite common to find Black Medic in one's flower beds, along trails, and in abandoned lots. It creeps along the ground and roots in deeply. "Media" is the ancient country (present northwest Iran) that Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) came from. "Lupulina" is Latin for "little hop plant." Both the and species were named by Linnaeus in 1753.


©2010 Rasbak

Description

Introduced with stems to 20+" long. Leaves on short . , hairy or not. as long as or longer than the leaves. compact, 6-25 flowers, 1" long, yellow. Pods spiral.

Field Marks

Creeping, spreading plant dotted with tiny yellow flower balls.

© Al Schneider

genus -- A subdivision of a botanical Family in which all members have a significant number of similar characteristics.

A peduncle is a common stalk of a cluster of flowers.

An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seed, within one year, and then dies.

Like the teeth on a saw, leaves and other surfaces can have toothed edges.

petiole -- the stalk of a leaf.

prostrate -- Laying flat on the ground.

A raceme is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along its axis.

leaflets -- Each little leaf-like thing in a compound leaf is a leaflet.