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Medicago (lucerne genus)
Life
> eukaryotes >
Archaeoplastida >
Chloroplastida
>
Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants)
> Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants)
> Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering
plants) > Eudicotyledons > Core Eudicots > Rosids >
Eurosid I > Fabales > Fabaceae > Subfamily: Papilionoideae
About 50 species, native to Europe, Africa and Asia. No indigenous species
in southern Africa but five species and one hybrid are naturalised, and an
additional seven species are cultivated in the region.
Medicago sativa (Alfalfa, Lucerne, Medic)
is an important forage crop.
Species naturalised in southern Africa
List from
Plants of southern Africa (POSA)
- an online checklist (SANBI).
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Medicago falcata (Sickle medick)
Native to Eurasia. |
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Medicago laciniata
Native to the Mediterranean. |
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Medicago lupulina (Black medick, Hop clover,
Nonsuch, Yellow trefoil, Shamrock) Native to Eurasia
and North Africa. |
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Medicago polymorpha (Toothed medick)
Native to Eurasia and North Africa. |
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Medicago sativa (Alfalfa, Lucerne, Medic)
Native to Eurasia. Lucerne is the most important of the world's forage crops and was
domesticated for feeding animals rather than for direct human consumption. |
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Medicago x hemicycla |
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Other species, cultivated in southern Africa
List from Glen (2002).
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Medicago arabica (Spotted medick)
Native to Eurasia and North Africa. |
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Medicago arborea (Moon trefoil)
Native from the Canary Islands to southwestern Asia. |
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Medicago intertexta (Calvary clover)
Native to the Mediterranean. |
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Medicago orbicularis Native
from the Mediterranean to Iran. |
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Medicago scutellata Native
from the Mediterranean to the Crimea. |
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Medicago truncatula (Barrel medick)
Native to the Mediterranean. |
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Medicago turbinata
Native from the Mediterranean to Iraq. |
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Publications
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