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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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  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.
  8. Cooper, M. R. & A. W. Johnson. Poisonous plants and fungi in Britain: animal and human poisoning. 1998
  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
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
1NativeAfricaMacaronesiaPortugalMadeira Islands 
1NativeAfricaMacaronesiaSpainCanary Islands 
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaAlgeria  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaEgypt  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaLibya  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaMorocco  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaTunisia  
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaOman  
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaQatar  
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaUnited Arab Emirates  
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaYemen  
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusAzerbaijan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusGeorgia  
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusRussian FederationDagestan 
1NativeAsia-TemperateCaucasusRussian Federation-CiscaucasiaCiscaucasia 
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaKazakhstan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaKyrgyzstan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaTajikistan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaTurkmenistan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaUzbekistan  
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  
1NativeEuropeEast EuropeUkraine  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeAustria  
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeGermany  
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 
4NaturalizedAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth Africa  
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentPakistan  
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaVietnam  
4NaturalizedAustralasiaAustraliaAustralia  
4NaturalizedEuropeMiddle EuropeBelgium  
4NaturalizedEuropeMiddle EuropeCzechoslovakia  
4NaturalizedEuropeMiddle EuropeHungary  
4NaturalizedEuropeMiddle EuropeNetherlands  
4NaturalizedEuropeMiddle EuropeSwitzerland  
4NaturalizedNorthern America United States  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaBrazilBrazil  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaMesoamericaCosta Rica  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaMesoamericaGuatemala  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaArgentina  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaChile  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaUruguay  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaEcuador  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaPeru  
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
UsageTypeNoteReference
Animal foodforage Duke, J. A. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance. 1981
Environmentalsoil improver University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. UC SAREP on-line cover crop database (on-line resource).
Vertebrate poisonsmammals Kellerman, T. S. et al. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa. 1988
Weedpotential seed contaminant Small, E. & M. Jomphe. 1989. A synopsis of the genus Medicago (Leguminosae). Canad. J. Bot. 67:3272.
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 17 July 2025.


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