Appearance

Medicago lupulina is a low-growing summer or winter annual broadleaf plant growing to 1.6 ft. (0.5 m) tall.

Foliage

Stems are light green or reddish green and densely covered with white hairs. The alternate compound leaves are trifoliate.

Flowers

Flowers are yellow and usually clustered in groups of 15-50 flowers blooming from April to August. Each flower is about 0.13 in. (0.32 cm) long and each cluster is about 0.25 in. (0.64 cm) across.

Fruit

Each cluster of flowers is replaced by a dense cluster of seedpods. Each seedpod is dark-colored, hairy, strongly curled, and about 0.13 in. (0.32 cm) long containing a single dark seed that is somewhat flattened and reniform (kidney-shaped).

Ecological Threat

Medicago lupulina is usually found in highly disturbed areas and can be found in prairies, cropland, pastures, areas along railroads and roadsides. It is native to Eurasia.

Selected Images

Maps

Invasive Listing Sources

• Invasive Plant Species of West Virginia
• Jil M. Swearingen, Survey of invasive plants occurring on National Park Service lands, 2000-2007
• Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council - Significant Threat
• National Park Service, Mid-Atlantic Exotic Plant Management Team Invasive Plant List
• Nonnative Invasive Species in Southern Forest and Grassland Ecosystems
• WeedUS - Database of Plants Invading Natural Areas in the United States
• West Virginia Native Plant Society, Flora West Virginia Project, and West Virginia Curatorial Database System, September 3, 1999

References