E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Medicago polymorpha L.
bur-clover (burclover)
Fabaceae (Pea family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Medicago polymorpha
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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.

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

Habitat / Range

Mesic to dry fields and waste places, often with sandy or gravelly soil; rare in SW BC; introduced from Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)
Slope Gradient (%)	15	15	15
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	202	201	202
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]
Modal Nutrient Regime Class
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	1
Modal BEC Zone Class
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

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

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-09-16 5:55:26 AM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.