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Taxon:  Medicago polymorpha L.



Summary
Genus:
Medicago
Section:
Spirocarpos
Subsection:
Leptospireae
Family:
Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)
Subfamily:
Faboideae
Tribe:
Trifolieae
Nomen number:
23645
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. 2:779. 1753
Comment:
since M. polymorpha L. did not have a holotype or syntypes, all 13 varietal names of Linnaeus are validly published fide Melbourne ICN Art. 26, Ex. 4
Verified:
06/09/1987 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
1229 (1197  active, 412  available) in Australian Pastures Genebank.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Medicago polymorpha L. var. brevispina (Benth.) Heyn (586 active accession[s])
Medicago polymorpha L. var. denticulata (Willd.) Kerguelen (1383 active accession[s])
Medicago polymorpha L. var. polymorpha (2361 active accession[s])
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Medicago hispida Gaertn.
No images


Reference(s)
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  3. Batra, L. R. Names of Japanese plants sorted by their Japanese names in Romanized Katakana and scientific nomenclature. 1995
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  7. Brockwell, J. & F. W. Hely. 1966. Symbiotic characteristics of Rhizobium meliloti: an appraisal of the systematic treatment of nodulation and nitrogen fixation interactions between hosts and rhizobia of diverse origins. Austral. J. Agric. Res. 17:885-899.
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  9. Davis, P. H., ed. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands. 1965-1988
  10. Duke, J. A. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance. 1981
  11. Eriksson, O. et al. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 2. 1979
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  14. Ghazanfar, S. A. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2. 1992
  15. Greuter, W. et al., eds. International code of botanical nomenclature (Saint Louis Code). 2000 Art. 26.2, Ex. 4.
  16. Greuter, W. et al., eds. Med-Checklist. 1984-
  17. Heyn, C. C. 1963. The annual species of Medicago. Scripta Hierosolymitana 12:71.
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  19. Hnatiuk, R. J. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11. 1990
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Common names
English
bur medic –
bur trefoil –
California bur-clover –
hairy medic –
rough medic –
toothed bur-clover –
toothed medic –
toothed medick –
trefoil-clover –
Arabic
nafal –
French
luzerne hérissée –
German
rauher Schneckenklee –
Italian
medica ispida –
Japanese Rōmaji
uma-goyashi –
Spanish
carretón de amores –
trébol de carretilla –
Swedish
tagglusern –
Transcribed Chinese
nan mu xu –
Transcribed Korean
gaejari –
Distribution
Native
Africa
  • MACARONESIA: Spain [Canary Islands], Portugal [Madeira Islands]
  • NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia
Asia-Temperate
  • ARABIAN PENINSULA: United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Yemen
  • CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia], Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation [Dagestan]
  • MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
  • WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
Europe
  • EAST EUROPE: Ukraine
  • MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria, Germany
  • NORTHERN EUROPE: United Kingdom
  • SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Romania
  • SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France, Portugal
Cultivated ()
Adventive
Northern America
  • REGION: Mexico
Naturalized
Africa
  • MACARONESIA: Portugal [Azores]
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Pakistan
  • INDO-CHINA: Vietnam
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia
Europe
  • MIDDLE EUROPE: Belgium, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Netherlands
Northern America
  • REGION: United States
Southern America
  • BRAZIL: Brazil
  • MESOAMERICA: Costa Rica, Guatemala
  • SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay
  • WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Ecuador, Peru
Economic Uses
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://apg.pir.sa.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=23645. Accessed 15 March 2025.


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