284 LEGUMINOSAE 



Naturalized from Europe, near the coast, 5 to 500 feet: Marin Co. to Humboldt 

 Co. May-Nov. 



Locs. — San Eafael, ace. M. C. Richter; Bodega, Chandler 685; Eureka, Tracy 6594. 



Refs. — Ulex europaeus L. Sp. PL 741 (1753), type from Europe; Jepson, Man 533 (1925). 



14. MEDICAGO L. Medick 

 Herbs, tlie leaves and flowers essentially as in Melilotus. Flowers in short 

 racemes, spikes or loose heads. Stamens diadelphous, the upper one entirely free. 

 Pod small, 1 to several-seeded, incurved or coiled or spirally twisted, indehiscent. — 

 Species 50, Europe, Asia and Africa. (Greek ]\Iedike, name given by Dioscorides 

 to a plant from I\redia, perhaps lucern, that is, Medicago sativa.) 



Perennial ; flowers blue 1- M. sativa. 



Annuals ; flowers yellow. 



Pod 1-seeded, reniform, unarmed but strongly nerved 2. M. lupulina. 



Pod several-seeded, spirally coiled. 

 Margined with prickles. 



Edge of the pod keeled, not grooved between the prickles; leaflets not splotched. 



3. M. hispida. 

 Edge of the pod furrowed between the prickles; leaflets with a large inky splotch 



on the upper face 4. M. arabica. 



Unarmed 5. M. apiculata. 



1. M. sativa L. Alfalfa. Perennial from an elongated taproot, erect and 

 smooth; leaflets oblong-obovate or linear-oblong, 8 to 10 lines long; flowers blue- 

 purple (5 lines long), in racemes; pods spirally twisted so as to form 2 or 3 complete 

 rings or coils. 



-Cultivated Asiatic plant, occasional as an escape in low or moist valleys or river 

 bottoms, 10 to 2000 (or 6500) feet: widely distributed but rarely truly spontane- 

 ous, almost always near or in cultivated fields. As was long ago said (Davidson, 

 Erythea 1 :58), it is doubtful if the plant would survive in California if cultivation 

 of it ceased. May-Oct. 



A native of western Asia, Medicago sativa has been cultivated for more than twenty centuries. 

 It was introduced into California in 1854 and is called with us the "king of forage plants", since 

 it gives, under the best conditions of soil and irrigation, three to seven crops per year which 

 produce a total of four to ten tons of hay per acre. It is also valued as a bee plant and yields 

 10 to 30 or sometimes even 60 pounds of honey to the acre in a season. The plant is rarely 

 called Lucern. 



Locs. — San Diego Co. (Orcutt, Fl. S. & L. Cal. check-list, 5) ; Santa Catalina Isl. (Erythea 

 7:144); Los Angeles, E. D. Palmer; Silver Canon, White Mts., Jepson; Eosedale, Kern Co., 

 Davy; Los Altos, Santa Clara Co., Button; Mt. Eden, w. Alameda Co., Jepson 9721; Alameda 

 marshes, Davy; Antioch, Jepson; Brentwood, Jepson; betw. Old River bridge and Stockton, 

 Jepson; Norman, Glenn Co., Davy ; Van Duzen River valley near Buck Mt., Tracy 2857. 



Refs. — Medicago sativa L. Sp. PL 778 (1753), type European; Jepson, Fl. W. Mid. CaL 

 313 (1901), ed. 2, 220 (1911), Man. 533 (1925). 



2. M. lupulina. L. Nonesuch. Black Medick. Branching from the base 

 into spreading procumbent stems 9 to 18 inches long; leaflets orbicular and more 

 or less deltoid to cuneate-obovate, 4 to 6 lines long; peduncles longer than the leaves 

 (1 to IV2 inches long), bearing a short dense spike of bright yellow flowers; pods 

 reniform, 1-seeded, black when ripe. 



Naturalized from Europe, valleys and hills, 10 to 6000 feet : not common but 

 widely distributed. Apr.-June. 



Locs. — San Diego Co. (Orcutt, FL S. & L. Cal. chock-list 4) ; San Bernardino Valley, Parish 

 11,999; Swartout Valley, San Gabriel Mts., Peirson 3191; Pleasant Canon, Panamint Range; 

 New Almaden, Santa Clara Co., Davy 382; San Francisco (Erythea 6:65) ; Berkeley, J. Allen 

 DeCou; Murphys Camp (Erythea 6:18); Jackson (Hansen, Fl. Sequoia Reg. 1); Elk Grove, 

 Sacramento Co., M. C. Eichter; Cascade, Lake Tahoe, Chesnut 4" Drew; Ft. Bragg, W. C. 

 Matheics 92 ; Scotia, Humboldt Co., Davy 5532 ; Klamath River, Chandler 1423 ; Yreka, Butler 

 1039 ; Crescent City, Davy 5928. 



Refs. — Medicago lupulina L. Sp. PL 779 (1753), tvpe European; Jepson, Fl. W. Mid. Cal. 

 313 (1901), ed. 2, 220 (1911), Man. 534 (1925). 



