Medicago lupulina L.
black medic (black medick)
Fabaceae (Pea family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
black medic (black medick)
Fabaceae (Pea family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
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.
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:
Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Medicago lupulina
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) |
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
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to dry fields, roadsides and waste places; common in BC S of 56degreeN, rare on the Queen Charlotte Islands, absent on N Vancouver Island; introduced from Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Medicago lupulina var. cupaniana (Guss.) Boiss.
Medicago lupulina var. glandulosa Neilr.