Black medick belongs to the member of the pea family or Fabaceae. It is a low trailing annual, biennial or short-lived perennial that reaches 1 to 2 feet in length. Stems are prostrate, slender, four-angled, branched at base, and glabrous to hairy. Leaves are pinnately trifoliate. Leaflets are rounded, ovate, finely pubescent, and ½ inch long. Flowers are small, bright yellow and rounded to slightly elongated, and borne in dense clusters which measure ½ to ¾ inch long. The inflorescence is rounded to a slightly elongated cluster of 10 to 50 tiny flowers. Seeds are kidney-shaped, gold or brown, and 1/16 inches long.
It is native to Europe, the near east, north Africa, and most of Asia including China, India, and Korea. It is naturalized in central Asia, South Africa, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States, and South America. It is found throughout the United States including Alaska and Hawaii. It thrives well in dry to moist and well-drained soils.
Name
Black Medick
Scientific Name
Medicago lupulina
Common/English Name
Black medick, hop clover, nonesuch
Name in Other Languages
Latvian: Apinveida Lucerna; Lithuanian: Apynine Liucerne; Armenian: Arvuit Gailukanman; Afrikaans: hopmedicago; Chinese: tian lan mu xu; Danish: humle-sneglebælg; Dutch: hopperupsklaver; English: black medick, hop clover, black trefoil, trefoil, yellow trefoil; Finnish: nurmimailanen; French: lupuline, minette, luzerne lupuline, minette dorée; German: gelbklee, hopfenklee; Hungarian: komlós lucerna; Italian: lupolina; Japanese: kometsubu umagoyashi; Korean: jan gae ja ri; Nepalese: pahenlo pyauli; Norwegian: snegleskolm; Polish: lucerna nerkowata; Portuguese: alfalfa-lupulina, luzerna-preta, luzerna-lupulina, trevo-amarelo; Russian: liutserna khmelevidnaia, liutserna khmelevaia; Slovenian: hmeljna meteljka. Spanish:- Mexico: alfalfa lupulina, carretilla Catalan: carretón, fenarola-menuda, herba de la desfeta, lupulina, melgó menut, meligón, mielga azafranada, mielga, mielga negra, trèvol; Swedish: humlelusern, humleluzern; Chinese: tian lan mu xu
Plant Growth Habit
Annual or short-lived perennial herbs
Plant Size
1 to 2 feet length
Stem
Procumbent or ascending
Flowering Season
Late spring to early fall
Flower
Yellow, 2-3 mm
Pod shape & size
Black, 1.5 to 3 mm in diameter
Seed
Single, oval to kidney shaped, yellow to olive green, 2 mm long x I mm wide
Black Medick Scientific Classification
Scientific Name: Medicago lupulina
Rank
Scientific Name & (Common Name)
Kingdom
Plantae (Plants)
Subkingdom
Viridiplantae (Green plants)
Infrakingdom
Streptophyta (Land plants)
Superdivision
Embryophyta
Division
Tracheophyta (Vascular plants, tracheophytes)
Class
Magnoliopsida
Subclass
Rosidae
Order
Fabales
Family
Fabaceae (Peas, legumes)
Genus
Medicago L. (Alfalfa)
Species
Medicago lupulina L. (Black medick, black medic clover, black medic, hop clover, hop medic, nonesuch, yellow trefoil)
Corolla is yellow, zygomorphic and 2–3 mm (0.08–0.12 in.) long and fused at base. The calyx is five-lobed. Inflorescence is an axillary, globose-elongated, long-stalked and dense raceme.
Leaves
Leaves are stalked, stipulate and alternate. Leaflets are obovate having notched tips and sharp-pointed or tip with toothed margins.
Fruit
Fruits are kidney-shaped, glabrous, net veined, coiled and 1.5-3 mm (0.06-0.12 in.) long. It is a one-seeded, brownish-black and indehiscent pod.
Habitat
Medicago lupulina is found in roadsides, lawns, waste ground, harbors, railway yards, and shores.
