Alfalfa for New York 1969 



the alfalfa family 



Alfalfa is related, in a botanical sense, to both red clover and sweet 

 clover, being one of that large tribe of leguminous plants having compound 

 leaves made up of three leaflets and known as the Trifolieas. 



In the genus Medicago, to which alfalfa belongs — so called because 

 alfalfa was originally supposed to have come from Media — there are 

 at least fifty species. Those most commonly found in cultivation are 

 the common alfalfa (M. sativa), bur clover {M. denticulata) , black medick 

 (M. lupiiUna), yellow alfalfa {M. falcata), and sand lucern {M. media); 

 the common alfalfa (M. sativa), however, is the only one of the family in 

 extensive cultivation. 



Some of these species and several varieties derived from them range 

 in hardiness from semitropical forms to those adapted to extremely cold 

 climates. In general these are arranged according to hardiness as follows: 



Kinds suited to the coldest parts of the temperate zone 

 Siberian, or sickle 



Kinds suited to warm to cool temperate climates; the first four kinds 

 are the so-called hardy alfalfas 

 Sand lucern 

 Grimm 



Ontario variegated 

 Hardy Blackhill 

 Common 

 Turkestan 



Kinds suited to semitropical climates 

 Peruvian 

 Arabian 



The yellow, or sickle, alfalfa is a native of Siberia and never winterkills, 

 but is not very productive, yielding only one cutting a season. 



The common and the Turkestan, which is a variet}' of the common, 

 are hardy as far north as North Dakota and central New York. The 

 Turkestan is considered somewhat less productive than the common, but 

 it is a little more drought resistant. Both these kinds are blue flowered. 

 The so-called hardy alfalfas can be grown from t^^'0 hundred to three 

 hundred miles farther north than the common and the Turkestan. They 

 have flowers ranging in color from blue through yellow, green, and white. 

 In New York State the common alfalfa should be grown wherever it 

 does well. The more hardy kinds, while more resistant to cold, are not 

 so productive and should be tried only in exposed elevations and in parts 

 of the State where common alfalfa often fails to winter satisfactorily. 



The two semitropical kinds are hardy only in climates such as those 



in southern Texas and southern California. 

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