Medicago

Bur medick Medicago minima, from here.

Belongs within: Fabeae.

Medicago, medicks, is a genus of mostly herbaceous legumes native to Eurasia and Africa.

Characters (from Flora of China): Annual or perennial herbs, rarely shrubs. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate; stipules adnate to petiole at base; leaflets denticulate, lat­eral veins running out into teeth. Racemes axillary, flowers crowded into heads; bracts small and caducous. Calyx 5-toothed, sub­equal. Petals free from staminal tube; standard oblong to obovate, usually reflexed; wings and keel with hooked appendages involved in explosive tripping mechanism for pollination. Stamens diadelphous; filaments not dilated, apical portion of staminal column arched; anthers uniform. Ovary sessile or shortly stipitate; ovules numerous; style subulate; stigma subcapitate, oblique. Legume compressed, coiled, curved, or straight, surface reticulate, sometimes armed with spines. Seed small, reniform, smooth or rough.

<==Medicago
    |--M. aculeata TG88
    |--M. arabica TG88
    |--M. coronata PT98
    |--M. disciformis PT98
    |--M. falcata O88
    |--M. hispida AGF98
    |--M. intertexta C55
    |--M. laciniata TG88
    |--M. littoralis TG88
    |--M. lupulina O88
    |--M. maculata C55
    |--M. marina C74
    |--M. minima PT98
    |--M. monspeliaca PT98
    |--M. nigra C55
    |--M. orbicularis PT98
    |--M. polymorpha PT98
    |--M. rugosa PT98
    |--M. sativa RM03
    |--M. scutellata TG88
    |--M. sylvestris C55
    |--M. tornata TG88
    |--M. truncatula RM03
    `--M. tuberculata PT98

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[AGF98] Abd El-Ghani, M. M., & A. G. Fahmy. 1998. Composition of and changes in the spontaneous flora of Feiran Oasis, S Sinai, Egypt, in the last 60 years. Willdenowia 28: 123–134.

[C55] Candolle, A. de. 1855. Géographie Botanique Raisonée: Ou exposition des faits principaux et des lois concernant la distribution géographique des plantes de l’époque actuelle vol. 1. Librairie de Victor Masson: Paris.

[C74] Coineau, Y. 1974. Éléments pour une monographie morphologique, écologique et biologique des Caeculidae (Acariens). Mémoires du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, nouvelle série, Série A, Zoologie 81: 1–299, 24 pls.

[O88] Ohba, H. 1988. The alpine flora of the Nepal Himalayas: an introductory note. In: Ohba, H., & S. B. Malla (eds) The Himalayan Plants vol. 1. The University Museum, University of Tokyo, Bulletin 31: 19–46.

[PT98] Panitsa, M., & D. Tzanoudakis. 1998. Contribution to the study of the Greek flora: flora and vegetation of the E Aegean islands Agathonisi and Pharmakonisi. Willdenowia 28: 95–116.

[RM03] Radutoiu, S., L. H. Madsen, E. B. Madsen, H. H. Felle, Y. Umehara, M. Grønlund, S. Sato, Y. Nakamura, S. Tabata, N. Sandal & J. Stougaard. 2003. Plant recognition of symbiotic bacteria requires two LysM receptor-like kinases. Nature 425: 585–592.

[TG88] Tepfer, D., A. Goldmann, N. Pamboukdjian, M. Maille, A. Lepingle, D. Chevalier, J. Dénarié & C. Rosenberg. 1988. A plasmid of Rhizobium meliloti 41 encodes catabolism of two compounds from root exudate of Calystegium sepium. Journal of Bacteriology 170 (3): 1153–1161.