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Taxon:  Medicago sativa L.



Summary
Genus:
Medicago
Section:
Medicago
Family:
Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)
Subfamily:
Faboideae
Tribe:
Trifolieae
Nomen number:
23676
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. 2:778. 1753
Verified:
06/10/1987 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
573 (561  active, 120  available) in Australian Pastures Genebank.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Medicago sativa L. nothosubsp. tunetana Murb. (12 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. nothosubsp. varia (Martyn) Arcang. (370 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. subsp. caerulea (Less. ex Ledeb.) Schmalh. (158 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. subsp. falcata (L.) Arcang. (261 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. subsp. falcata (L.) Arcang. var. falcata (L.) Doll (0 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. subsp. falcata (L.) Arcang. var. viscosa (Rchb.) Posp. (2 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. subsp. glomerata (Balb.) Rouy (30 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. subsp. sativa (1687 active accession[s])
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Medicago caerulea Less. ex Ledeb. var. pauciflora (Ledeb.) Grossh.
Medicago karatschaica Latsch.
Medicago lavrenkoi Vassilcz.
Medicago pauciflora Ledeb.
Medicago sativa L. var. pilifera Urb.
No images


Reference(s)
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Common names
Arabic
burseem –
jatt –
Italian
erba medica –
medica –
Transcribed Korean
jajukgaejari –
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaAlgeria  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaLibya  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaMorocco  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaTunisia  
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusArmenia  
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusAzerbaijan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusGeorgia  
1NativeAsia-TemperateChinaChina  
1NativeAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaKorea  
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaKazakhstan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaKyrgyzstan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaTajikistan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaTurkmenistan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaUzbekistan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateMongoliaMongolia  
1NativeAsia-TemperateRussian Far EastRussian Federation-Far EastFar East 
1NativeAsia-TemperateSiberiaRussian Federation-Eastern SiberiaEastern Siberia 
1NativeAsia-TemperateSiberiaRussian Federation-Western SiberiaWestern Siberia 
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaAfghanistan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaCyprus  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIran  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIraq  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIsrael  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaJordan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaLebanon  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaSyria  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaTurkey  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentPakistan  
1NativeEuropeEast EuropeBelarus  
1NativeEuropeEast EuropeEstonia  
1NativeEuropeEast EuropeLatvia  
1NativeEuropeEast EuropeLithuania  
1NativeEuropeEast EuropeMoldova  
1NativeEuropeEast EuropeRussian Federation-European partEuropean part 
1NativeEuropeEast EuropeUkraine  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeAustria  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeBelgium  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeCzechoslovakia  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeGermany  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeHungary  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeNetherlands  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropePoland  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeSwitzerland  
1NativeEuropeNorthern EuropeDenmark  
1NativeEuropeNorthern EuropeIreland  
1NativeEuropeNorthern EuropeNorway  
1NativeEuropeNorthern EuropeSweden  
1NativeEuropeNorthern EuropeUnited Kingdom  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeAlbania  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeBulgaria  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeFormer Yugoslavia  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeGreece  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeItaly  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeRomania  
1NativeEuropeSouthwestern EuropeFrance  
1NativeEuropeSouthwestern EuropePortugal  
1NativeEuropeSouthwestern EuropeSpain  
2Cultivated     
3AdventiveNorthern America Mexico  
4NaturalizedAfricaMacaronesiaPortugalAzores 
4NaturalizedAfricaNorthern AfricaEgypt  
4NaturalizedAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth Africa  
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentNepal  
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentSri Lanka  
4NaturalizedAustralasiaAustraliaAustralia  
4NaturalizedAustralasiaNew ZealandNew Zealand  
4NaturalizedEuropeNorthern EuropeFinland  
4NaturalizedNorthern America United States  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaBrazilBrazil  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaArgentina  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaChile  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaUruguay  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaEcuador  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaPeru  
Native
Africa
  • NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia
Asia-Temperate
  • CAUCASUS: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
  • CHINA: China
  • EASTERN ASIA: Korea
  • MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
  • MONGOLIA: Mongolia
  • RUSSIAN FAR EAST: Russian Federation-Far East [Far East]
  • SIBERIA: Russian Federation-Western Siberia [Western Siberia], Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia [Eastern Siberia]
  • WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Pakistan
Europe
  • EAST EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part], Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine
  • MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland
  • NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Sweden
  • 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]
  • NORTHERN AFRICA: Egypt
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia
  • NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand
Europe
  • NORTHERN EUROPE: Finland
Northern America
  • REGION: United States
Southern America
  • BRAZIL: Brazil
  • SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay
  • WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Ecuador, Peru
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000
Vertebrate poisonsmammals Kellerman, T. S. et al. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa. 1988
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=23676. Accessed 18 July 2025.


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