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 English 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 arc 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. 



28519-14 



