Fabaceae
Medicago

Medicago littoralis Rohde ex Loisel.

First published in Not. Fl. France: 119 (1810)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Macaronesia, Medit. to Caucasus. It is an annual and grows primarily in the subtropical biome.

Descriptions

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Mediterranean/Sahara regional transition zone; grassland., Mediterranean grasslands., Mediterranean littoral and maritime vegetation.
Morphology General Habit
Annual, Not climbing, Herb
Vernacular
Coastal Medick, Lyutzerna Pribrezhnaya, Strand Medic
[ILDIS]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/176599/75347484

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Seed Collecting Guide. RBG Kew (2013-2016)

Morphology General Habit
Annual, procument herb, ascending, branched from the base, branches 7-20(-40) cm long, vegetative parts pubescent with simple hairs
Morphology Leaves Stipules
stipules dentate to lacinate. leaflets 3-8 mm long, 2-7 mm wide, pubescent on both sides, distal margins serrate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
inflorescence composed of 1-3(-5) flowers, peduncle about equal to subtending petiole
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
flowers 3-6 mm long; calyx with simple hairs, teeth shorter than tube; corolla yellow, about twice as long as calyx
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
young pod contracted and concealed within calyx mature pod discoid to cylindrical, glabrous, hard at maturity, 3- 10 mm long, 3-7 mm wide, with 2-6(-8) adpressed coils, spiny, the spines held 90-180 degrees to pod surface, rarely overlapping
Morphology Leaves Leaf veins
coil surface with about 10 somewhat curving radial veins arising from ventral surface, branching slightly and entering lateral vein
General Description
grooves along sides of dorsal suture not very pronounced
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
1-2 per coil, separated by transverse spongy membranes, 2.5-3.7 mm long, yellowish to brownish-yellow, reniform, surface smooth.
Ecology
usually found on sandy seashores, occasionally in grasslands and arid areas further inland. altitude 0 - 100 m
Distribution
Northern Africa, Southern and Eastern Europe, Western Asia, introduced into the Eastern USA and Australia.
Conservation
least concerned.
Phenology
Flower (february - may), fruit (march - june).
[SCG]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Uses

Use
Forage
[ILDIS]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • International Legume Database and Information Service

    • International Legume Database and Information Service (ILDIS) V10.39 Nov 2011
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Seed Collection Guides

    • Seed Collection Guides
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0