Medicago polymorpha L.
bur-clover (burclover)
Fabaceae (Pea family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
bur-clover (burclover)
Fabaceae (Pea family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Annual herb; stems prostrate to erect, 10-50 cm long/tall, glabrous or sparsely short-hairy.
Leaves:
Alternate, pinnately compound; leaflets 3, egg- to heart-shaped with wedge-shaped bases, 1-2.5 cm long, not blotched, short-hairy to glabrous, fine-toothed toward the tip; stipules narrowly egg-shaped, deeply cut into long teeth, 3-7 mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of 2 to 5 pea-like flowers in a reduced, axillary raceme on a stalk shorter than the leaves, the racemes 4-8 mm long; corollas yellow, 3-5 mm long, the banner longer than the wings and keel; calyces bell-shaped, 3 mm long, the awl-shaped teeth slightly longer than the tube.
Fruits:
Pods, coiled in 2 to 5 spirals, forming a drum-shaped body about 5 mm in diameter, the margins with straight or hooked spines as much as 3 mm long, or occasionally spineless; seeds several.
Illustration
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
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Winter
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Medicago polymorpha
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
|||
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
15 | 15 | 15 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
201 | 202 | 202 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
|||
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
|||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
1 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
|||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
|||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to dry fields and waste places, often with sandy or gravelly soil; rare in SW BC; introduced from Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Medicago apiculata auct. non Willd. [misapplied]
Medicago denticulata Willd.
Medicago hispida
Medicago hispida var. apiculata (Willd.) Urban
Medicago hispida var. confinis (W.D.J. Koch) Burnat
Medicago polycarpa Willd.
Medicago polymorpha (Willd.) Shinners
Medicago polymorpha var. brevispina (Benth.) Heyn
Medicago polymorpha var. ciliaris (Ser.) Shinners
Medicago polymorpha var. nigra
Medicago polymorpha var. polygyra (Urban) Shinners
Medicago polymorpha var. tricycla (Gren. & Godr.) Shinners
Medicago polymorpha var. vulgaris (Benth.) Shinners