General:
Annual or sometimes short-lived perennial herb; stems prostrate to erect, 10-50 cm long, branched from the base, downy.
Leaves:
Alternate, pinnately compound; leaflets 3, egg-shaped with a wedge-shaped base, 0.5-2 cm long, not spotted, hairy to glabrous, the upper margins toothed; stipules entire to shallowly toothed, lanceolate, not sheathing, 3-6 mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a compact, spike-like, axillary raceme of 10 to 40 pea-like flowers, the racemes to 1 cm long on stalks equalling or longer than the leaves; corollas yellow, 2-3 mm long; calyces bell-shaped, about 1 mm long.
Fruits:
Pods, kidney-shaped, coiled through about one spiral, 2-3 mm long, unarmed, net-ridged, glabrous or short-hairy, becoming black; seeds 1.
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
Elevation
(metres) |
966 | 122 | 2240 |
Slope
Gradient (%) |
15 | 0 | 210 |
Aspect (degrees) |
193 | 0 | 355 |
Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 1 | 7 |
Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
#
of field plots species was recorded in: |
317 | ||
Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(4), ESSF(7), ICH(14), IDF(185), MS(33), PP(60) | ||
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Medicago lupulina var. cupaniana (Guss.) Boiss.
Medicago lupulina var. glandulosa Neilr.