Author: navidcod 
Medicago littoralis
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 dark gray, cylindrical, hard·walled, spiny, tubercled or spineless; number of coils 3-6, appressed, turning clockwise or anticlockwise; surface of coil with 8·10 radial veins, somewhat curved, little branching or anastomosing only before entering the lateral vein; veins may be obscured by spongy tissue; lateral veins separated from the dorsal suture by a shallow groove which disappears at maturity; dorsal suture in ripe pods on the same level as the lateral veins (except for var. canariensis); spines, if present, 6-8 on each side of the coil, 1-4 mm long, conical, inserted at (90°) 130° to 180° to the surface of the coil, their base often in spongy tissue; occasionally there may be spiny and almost spineless pods on the same plant, and spines may be present or absent on different coils of the same pod.
Seed shape: Reniform, 1-2 seeds in each coil, separated; seed coat smooth, yellow (rarely light brown); radicle less than half of the seed length.
Fruit size: Diameter 4-6 mm
Seed size: Length 2.4-3 mm, maximum width 1.2-1.5 mm, thickness 0.5-1 mm in an accession from Gorgan, Golestan with 1000 seed weight 3.9 g, which was collected in 1999 by Hossein Ghorbani, and the cultivated sample was identified by Masumeh Izadpanah and Iraj Mehregan with accession number 4166.
1000 seed weight: 5.5-6.5 g
Biological features
Life form: Herbaceous, annual, procumbent to 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) bright yellow, wings usually slightly 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: February- May
Time of seed ripening: One month after flowering
Seed dispersal methods: The seeds are displaced by weight. Pods move by attaching to the wool and hair of animals.
Geographical distribution: Mediterranean woodlands.
Distribution in Iran: It is distributed along the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
Taxonomy
Family: Papilionaceae
Genus: Medicago
Species: littoralis
Common name: Water medic
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.
