ALFALFA 313 



376. Botanical varieties of alfalfa. Wild alfalfas 

 occur over much of central and western Asia, scattered 

 through the southern half of Europe, and in the mountains 

 of northern Africa. The wild plants are very variable, 

 but some are so much like the cultivated that there is 

 no reason to doubt the genetic origin of the latter. 



Besides the ordinary cultivated form of alfalfa about 

 15 distinct varieties have been named by botanists. Only 

 one of these has been of any particular economic impor- 

 tance, namely, variety falcata with yellow flowers and 

 smooth sickle-shaped pods. The usefulness of this variety 

 lies mainly in its hardiness and the valuable hybrids it 

 makes with ordinary alfalfa. 



377. Cultivated varieties of alfalfa. At the present 

 time, there are no established varieties of alfalfa that 

 are even approximately pure strains. Every field, from 

 whatever source, exhibits a widely diverse assemblage of 

 individuals. Nevertheless, several of the commercial 

 varieties or regional strains show combinations of char- 

 acters by which they may be distinguished. Others, 

 like Turkestan, can be differentiated from common alfalfa 

 only by obscure differences in behavior. 



The agronomically important varieties or strains of 

 alfalfa include common or ordinary, Turkestan, Arabian, 

 Peruvian, Siberian or sickle, and variegated (including 

 sand lucern and Grimm). 



Common or ordinary aljalfa. Under this category is in- 

 cluded the alfalfa ordinarily grown in Europe, the United 

 States, Argentina and Australia. Most of the European 

 seed imported into the United States is from Provence, 

 France, but seed is also grown in Italy, Hungary and 

 Germany. There is a growing tendency in the American 

 seed trade to designate the state in which the seed is 



