Author: navidcod 
Medicago noeana
Masoumeh Izadpanah, Parvin Salehi Shanjani and Leila Falah Hoseini
Natural Resources Gene Bank, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Tehran, Iran.
Uploaded at August 2021
Scientific editor: Valiullah Mozaffarian
Seed Storage
The storage behavior of this species is orthodox (desiccation-tolerant seeds); dry to 15-20% eRH and store at -20 °C.
Germination requirements
The seeds of this species are not dormant. Sterilize seeds before placing them on wet germination paper. Place seeds for two weeks in 4 ºC to germinate uniformly. Then germinate under an alternating temperature regime of 15/20 ºC (the higher temperature for 16 hours in light and the lower one for eight hours in dark).
Morphology
Fruit type: Pod
Fruit shape: Straw-colored to brown, cylindrical, glabrous, spineless; number of coils 2.5-4.5, not tightly appressed, turning clockwise, hard-walled, on coil surface 14-17 veins radiating from the center, running without noticeable branching into a weakly expressed lateral vein, from there as strong ridges reach obliquely to the dorsal suture which is usually located in a groove so that in side view a herring bone pattern is seen on the edge of each coil; pod surface rough due to alveolar tissue.
Seed shape: Oblong, compressed, 1-2 seeds in each coil, separated; seed coat smooth, yellowish to brown; radicle half the length of the seed, or slightly shorter.
Fruit size: Diameter: (4.5-) 5-5.5 (-6) mm, thickness: (3.5-) 4-5.5 mm
Seed size: Length (2.6-) 3-3.5 mm, maximum width (1.2-) 2-2.2 mm, thickness 0.8-1 mm in an accession from Salas Babaji, Kermanshah with 1000 seed weight 4.5 g, which was collected in 2011 by Ali Veisi and the cultivated sample was identified by Masumeh Izadpanah and Iraj Mehregan with accession number 40298.
1000 seed weight: 3.5-4.5 g.
Biological features
Life form: Herbaceous, annual, ascending
Inflorescences and flower type and pollination mechanisms: Flowers in axillary pedunculate racemes, hermaphrodite, zygomorphic and asymmetric; corolla (composed of banner: upper large petal, wings: two petals adjacent to the banner, and Keel: two bottom petals) yellow, wings shorter than the Keel; stamens are always ten in number, and their filaments are fused in a group of nine stamens plus one separate stamen (9+1). Plant monoecious, self-pollinate with 10% cross-pollination, which is carried out by insects.
Time of flowering: June to August
Time of seed ripening: July to September
Seed dispersal methods: The seeds are displaced by weight. Pods move by attaching to the wool and hair of animals.
Geographical distribution: Iraq and Turkey.
Distribution in Iran: West. Kermanshah and Ardabil
Taxonomy
Family: Papilionaceae
Genus: Medicago
Species: noeana
Persian name: Yonje Kurdestani
References and Links
Ghahraman, A. Flore of Iran. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands with University of Tehran Publication. https://floraofiran.net/index.php.
Lesins, K.A. and Lesins, I. 1979. Genus Medicago (Leguminosae): a taxogenetic study. The Hague, Boston, London: Dr W. Junk Publisher, 234 pp.
Small, E. and Brookes, B. 1990. Circumscription of the genus Medicago (Leguminosae) by seed characters. Can. J. Bot. 68: 613-629.
Small, E. and Jomphe, M. 1988. A synopsis of the genus Medicago (Leguminosae). Canadian Journal of Botany, 67: 3260-3294.
Mehregan, I., Rahiminejad, M.R. and Azizian, D. 2002. A taxonomic revision of the genus Medicago L. (Papilionaceae) in Iran. Iranian Journal of Botany, 9: 207-221(In Persian).
Mozaffarian, V. 2012. A Pictorial Dictionary of Botany. Farhange Moaser Publisher, 1088 pp.
Rechinger, K.H. 1984. Flora Iranica 157. Akadmische Druch. U. Verlagsanstalt. Graz.
