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Medicare ticnlicnliitii (Bur clover ; medic clover ; medick bur ; 

 toothed medick. Fig. 20). An annual clover, native of the 

 Mediterranean region, which has become naturalized in most warm 

 countries. It was early introduced into California, and has become 

 widely distributed in that State and in the grazing regions of the 

 south-west. It is not as nutritious nor as palatable as either alfalfa 

 or clover, but nils in the season when other more important forage 

 plants have become dried up by the summer heat. Stock of all 

 kinds fatten upon the burs, which they pick from the plant while 

 it is growing, and search for on the ground after the foliage has 



Fig. 20. Bur clover (Medicago dcnlicnlata). 



become completely dry and dead. It flourishes best in moist 

 valleys and along the coast where there is abundant rain, from 

 January to June. It also occurs on the drier uplands back from the 

 coast, but does not do so well in such localities. One of its dis- 

 advantages is that its prickly burs become entangled in the wool of 

 sheep. It has become widely disseminated over the ranges, and 

 adds much to the value of the summer pasturage. To establish a 



