Black medic
July 31, 2015
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EmailMedicago lupulina L
Life cycle
Prostrate, trailing summer annual.
Black medic plant.
Leaves
Alternate, compound – with three oval to egg-shaped leaflets – hairless to sparsely hairy, shallowly toothed along the upper half and tipped with a small point. The central leaflet is found on a definite stalk; the two lateral leaflets are nearly stalkless. A pair of stipules is present at the base of each petiole.
Black medic leaf.
Stems
Prostrate, trailing to ascending stems are wiry, usually hairy, multi-branched from the base and up to 2 feet long.
Black medic stipule.
Flowers and fruit
Numerous, very small, yellow flowers are formed in dense, mostly globe-shaped, clover-like clusters. Fruit are clusters of black, coiled, kidney- to bean-shaped, one-seeded pods.
Black medic flower (left). Black medic fruit (right).
Reproduction
Seeds.
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