MED1CAGO, 
twenty plants of it, that flood in different beds, in a few 
minutes. That, however, is an annual plant. 
The name lucern, lucerne, or luzerne, by which this 
jnedic is now generally known among us, is modern. Old 
Engliffi writers call it medic-fodder, Burgundy trefoil, fnail- 
trefoil, or fnail-clover ; Hartlib and Blith firft adopted the 
French name lucerne. The Germans and the other northern 
nations have all'o adopted the name from the French, who 
alfo call it trefe, oxfoin de Bourgogne, and grand trefe ; the 
Italians name it medica, lucerna, and erba Spagna ; the Spa¬ 
niards, alfalfa, mielga, medica ; the Portuguefe, luzerna, and 
mdicagem dos pajlos ; in Perlian it is gunfcha. 
7. Medicago falcata, or yellow medic : peduncles ra- 
cemed ; legumes crefcent-fhaped ; Item proffrate. Root 
perennial. Stems round, fmooth, Rightly ftriated, pro¬ 
cumbent, but afcending or bending upwards towards the 
end, branching, two, three, and fometimes four, feet in 
length. Leaves alternate, on fhort petioles; leaflets lanceo¬ 
late, oblong-ovate, or wedge-fhaped, fmooth, truncate or 
retufe, toothed towards the tip, entire at the bafe, the 
midrib lengthened into a projecting point; the two late¬ 
ral ones almolt feflile, the middle one on a longer petiolet. 
Stipules lanceolate, acuminate, entire, or fometimes with 
one or two teeth on the outer edge. Peduncles axillary, 
fomewhat angular, ftanding much above the leaf. Flowers 
in flvort loofifh racemes, each on a pedicel, with an awl- 
fliaped bracte ; calyx Rightly pubefcent, with equal awl- 
fliaped teeth; corolla commonly yellow. Legumes fickle- 
fhaped, not making feveral turns, as in cultivated lucern ; 
linear, fix or feven lines long, and fcarcely two broad, 
fmooth or (lightly pubefcent, one-celled, two-valved, black 
when ripe. Seeds five or fix, compreffed, fmooth, yellow, 
fixed to the interior future : according to Gaertner, there 
are only two or three, of an oblong kidney fhape ; and the 
pod itfelf is crefcent-fickle-fhaped or fubfpiral. 
Miller remarks, that the (talks of this are fmaller, and 
never rife fo high as thofe of the true lucern, and that 
they are generally proftrate ; that the leaves are not half 
fo broad ; that the flowers are produced in fhort roundifh 
(pikes, and are of a faffron colour. See the Plate, fig. 2. 
Yellow medic is common in the fouth of Europe, by 
way-fides and in dry paftures: with us it is alfo common 
in the far.dy grounds near Bury in Suffolk; Mr. Doody 
remarked it between Watford and Bufhy ; Mr. Rofe and 
Mr. Woodward about Norwich plentifully ; Quey, Bourn- 
bridge, Wilbraham, and Linton, in Cambridgefhire. Lin¬ 
naeus has recommended it for cultivation ; but Haller ob¬ 
jected to the hardnefs of the (talks, and its proftrate man¬ 
ner of growth. In cultivation, however, the ffalks may 
prove mere fucculent; and in this ftate they will fupport 
each other. Upon the whole, this is probably not fupe- 
rior to the purple medic, or lucern. The roots Alike very 
deep, and are with difficulty eradicated. 
/3. M. varia, or variegated medic. Yellow medic varies 
much in the colour of its flowers, which are fometimes 
whitifh, quite white, or greenifli, as well as of different 
fhades of yellow. But it is remarkable for a variety, or 
perhaps mule, with flowers of colours fo different as blue 
and yellow on the fame (talk. Cafpar Bauhin fays, that it 
is found in the fouth of France, with w'nitifh-yellow, green, 
blue, purple, black, and variegated, flowers; but he does 
not affirm that thefe different colours occur in the fame 
individual. Mr. Ray obferved it between Norwich and 
Lynn ; it has alfo been found about Bury, and is (aid to 
be common near Norwich and Yarmouth. Ray doubted 
whether it might not be the true lucern in a wild ftate. 
The ftipules in plants of the variegated variety which have 
come under obfervation were much narrower than in the 
yellow medic. If this difference fliould prove to be per¬ 
manent, it might induce us to fufpect that they are dif- 
tindl fpecies. FI. rttjl. t. 87. Young's Annals, xv. 279. 
8 . Medicago iupulina, hop or black medic, or none- 
fuch: fpikes oval; legumes kidney-form, one-feeded; 
(terns procumbent. Root annual or biennial, with few 
fibres, and penetrating deep into the earth. Stems trailing 
3 
unlefs fupported, numerous, about a foot long, fomewhat 
angular, (lightly hairy, branched. Flowers fmall, yellow, 
from thirty to forty and upwards in a head, which is at 
firft roundifh, afterwards oval. This plant is often con¬ 
founded with fome of the trefoils, from which however it 
is fo diftinft in the fruit, as to be rightly placed in a dif¬ 
ferent genus. The flowers are fmaller and more clofely 
compacted than thofe of Trifolium agrarium and procum- 
bens, both of which it much refembles ; but, when the 
feeds are ripe, this is diftinguifhed at firft fight by its 
black feed-veflels. From this circumftance it has ob¬ 
tained the names of black-feed and black nonefuch among 
fome cultivators : but it has commonly the name of trefoil , 
when cultivated either alone or with ray-grafs for fheep. 
The old writers call it mclilot trefoil. Hudfon names it 
black medic-, and Curtis, hop-medic. It grows naturally on 
dry banks and hilly paftures, chiefly in a fandy or dry 
foil. It is common in New England; and flowers in June 
and July. 
9. Medicago marina, or fea-medic : peduncles racemed ; 
legumes fpiral, fpiny ; Item procumbent, tomentofe. The 
legume of this is cylindric-globular and fpiral, or like a 
fnail’s (hell, with about four turns of the ferew, which are 
contiguous, and cinereous tomentofe; the outer future is 
convex, defended on each fide by very fhort pungent diftairt 
fpinules. Seeds four or five, kidney-form, yellow. Native of 
the fhoresof the Mediterranean Sea ; as about Marfeilles and 
Tripoli. Ray obferved it abundantly on the fandy coafts. 
According to Miller, it is a perennial plant, with trailing 
woolly branches about a foot long, divided into many 
fmall branches. Leaves fmall, downy, on fhort footffalks 
at each joint. Flowers from the fide and at the ends of 
the branches, in fmall clufters, of a bright yellow colours 
they appear in June and July, and the feeds ripen in 
September. 
10. Medicago polymorpha, or variable medic : legumes 
fpiral; ftipules toothed ; (tern diffufed. Root annual, ob¬ 
long, branched. Stems more or lefs procumbent, fome¬ 
what angular, hoary, from a hand to a foot in length, ter- 
nate; leaflets roundifh, retufe, fubferrate, glaucous-green, 
petioled ; the upper ones fmaller, foft, tomentofe. Pe¬ 
duncles axillary, much longer than the leaves, round, 
pubefcent, forming a fpike; flowers very fmall, commonly 
yellow; calyx fmaller than the corolla, hirfute, green- 
lioary ; legumes fhell-fnailed, fmall, one-celled, of different 
fhades of brown or blackifh when ripe, ciliate, aculeate, 
or naked. Seeds ovate, fmooth, convex on one fide, flat 
on thd other, lemon-coloured. Linnaeus juftly names this 
fpecies polymorpha-, and remarks, that, like the dog among 
animals, this plant produces numerous varieties, though 
not in the fame country. Some of thefe varieties are 
erected into fpecies by Miller, Gerard, Gaertner, and 
others. 
a. M. orbicularis, or flat-podded medic. Stems dif¬ 
fufed, fmooth. Leaflets fmall, triangular or wedge-fhaped, 
very blunt, fomewhat villofe, the upper ones fharply 
toothletted. Petioles longer than the leaves. Native of 
the fouth of Europe. Ray obferved it in Sicily, 
( 3 . M. fcutellata, or fnaii-medic. Stems trailing, ftriated, 
villofe. Peduncles longerthan the petioles,, villofe, awned, 
many-flowered. Flowers terminating, fertile, pale yellow. 
Legumes folitary or two together, fometimes three, fub- 
globular, making five, fix, or feven,. fpiral turns, which 
are leafy-compreffed, obliquely ftriated, concave upwards, 
toothlefs or fmooth, many-celled, not opening, dark brown 
\vhen ripe. Seeds five or fix, largifh, kidney-form, deeply 
emarginate next the navel, of an orange-rufefeent colour. 
Native of the fouth of France and Italy ; Ray obferved it 
near Leghorn. 
y. M. tornato, or fmooth-podded medic. This has trail-, 
ing branches, and yellow flowers, like the preceding, but 
the fruit is much longer and clofer twifted, refembling a 
barrel or wine-pipe, being lefs at each end than in the 
middle. According to Linnaeus, this has feveral fubey- 
lindric fruits (two to fix), with the Juirns of the ferew 
unarmed^ 
