black medick (Plants of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum Grounds, Chicago, Illinois)

black medick

Medicago lupulina

Summary ⁷

Medicago lupulina (black medic, sometimes spelled medick or meddick; also known as black hay, black nonsuch, blackweed, etc.) is a summer annual or perennial plant usually considered a weed. It has a tap root. Like other legumes, it has three leaflets; its center leaflet is on a separate petiole. As with other legumes, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, known as rhizobia, are found in nodules on the roots.

Comments ⁸

Black Medic looks like a sprawling Trifolium sp. (Clover) with small yellow flowerheads, however it is more closely related to Medicago sativa (Alfalfa). This is because their seedpods have a similar structure, although the seedpods of Alfalfa are more coiled than those of Black Medic. Other species in this genus include Medicago arabica (Spotted Medic) and Medicago orbicularis (Round Medic). These latter species are rare in Illinois and their seedpods are strongly coiled and spiny. Generally, all of these species have been introduced from Eurasia as a source of forage for livestock or to replenish agricultural soil with nitrogen.

Fuentes y créditos

(c) Steve Chilton, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/73779416@N00/291490345
(c) Biopix, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/photos/JCS-Medicago-lupulina-61199.JPG
(c) "<a href=""http://www.knps.org"">Kentucky Native Plant Society</a>. Scanned by <a href=""http://www.omnitekinc.com/"">Omnitek Inc</a>.", algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=melu_001_avd.tif
(c) "<a href=""http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/WLI/"">USDA NRCS Wetland Science Institute</a>.", algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=melu_002_ahp.tif
(c) "<a href=""http://nt.ars-grin.gov/"">ARS Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory</a>. France.", algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=melu_004_ahp.tif
(c) "<a href=""http://www.wli.nrcs.usda.gov"">NRCS National Wetland Team, Fort Worth, TX</a>.", algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=melu_007_avd.tif
(c) Wikipedia, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicago_lupulina
(c) John Hilty, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29447112