Herbs: shoots pubescent, often densely so, hairs eglandular. Stems procumbent or ascend­ing. Stipules: margins entire or den­tate. Leaflets: blades obovate, ovate, or oblanceolate, 12–16 × 6–8 mm, margins ser­rate or doubly serrate on distal 3/4 or less. Inflorescences (1–)3–8(–10)-flowered, racemes. Flowers (3–)5–8  mm; calyx pubescent or glabrescent, hairs eglandular, sometimes also glandular, lobes equal to or slightly longer than tube; corolla yellow or orange-yellow, less than 2 times length of calyx. Legumes with (4–)5–7(–9) coils, spherical to ovoid, 6–12(–15) × 5–8 mm, apex truncate, glabrous, margin usually prickly or tuberculate, sometimes smooth, prickles or tubercles, when present, sometimes inclined opposite to direction of fruit coiling, giving appearance of rapidly spinning top, very stocky and difficult to bend, base often round, 2 roots often apparent at maturity; faces very hard at maturity, coil face with radial veins entering veinless margin in distal 1/4–1/3 of coil, veins obscure at maturity from developing spongy tissue. Seeds yellow to light brown, reniform, 4–5 × 2–2.5 mm; radicle less than 1/2 seed length. 2n = 16, 18.

Phenology: Flowering spring–summer.
Habitat: Fallow fields, waste ground, edges of woods, open woods.
Elevation: 0–1000 m.

Distribution

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N.J., Oreg., s Europe, w Asia, n Africa.

Discussion

Medicago turbinata is rarely sown for forage. No cultivars have been developed.

The widely used combination Medicago turbinata (Linnaeus) Allioni is adopted here, although it is con­sidered to be a confused name (W. Greuter et al. 1981+, vol. 4). The species treated here is not M. turbinata in the sense of Willdenow (= M. doliata Carmignani).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.