YELLOW LUCERNE. 121 
This may explain its disastrous spreading. It is of course also 
possible that those parts which are not removed by cutting have a 
chance to set seed which makes new plants the next year. In which 
of these two ways Alfalfa Dodder is spreading in Canada is not yet 
known. 
YELLOW LUCERNE (Medicago falcata L.) 
Botanical description: Yellow Lucerne is closely related to 
Alfalfa. It is strongly perennial with a deep taproot and numerous 
stems. The stems are quite different from those of Alfalfa. They 
are seldom strictly upright, but are ascending or often even decum- 
bent. They are more slender than the stems of Alfalfa and more 
woody, especially toward the base. The leaves are similar but gener- 
ally have narrower leaflets. The flowers are in a cluster shaped like the 
inflorescence of Alfalfa but generally shorter and containing a smaller 
number of flowers. They are bright yellow and somewhat smaller 
than Alfalfa blossoms. The fruit is not twisted like that of Alfalfa 
but only slightly curved like a sickle—hence the name Sickle Medick, 
sometimes used by Engish writers. 
Geographical distribution: Yellow Lucerne is indigenous to 
the Old World where it is rather common. It occurs in England, 
through western and central Europe, in southern and central Scan- 
dinavia and Russia, and in practically all parts of Asia north of 
the Himalayas. 
Habitat and cultural conditions: It generally occurs in poor, 
sandy or gravelly soil and stands drought and severe cold better 
than Alfalfa; it is thus better suited to an adverse climate and a 
poor soil. 
Agricultural value: It will never be as valuable as Alfalfa 
because of its decumbent or even creeping tendency and its com- 
paratively low yield. It is a poor seed producer as a rule, the small 
quantity developed being considerably diminished by shattering. 
Yellow Lucerne consists of a large number of different types 
which vary greatly in their mode of growth and are therefore of dif- 
ferent agricultural value. As, however, they all have the above- 
mentioned drawbacks more or less pronounced none of them, as far 
as is known at present, can compete with Alfalfa. In spite of this, 
Yellow Lucerne is of great agricultural importance, as will be readily 
understood from the description of Variegated Alfalfa. 
