Author: navidcod 
Medicago arabica
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: Cylindrical to spherical, flat at both ends, straw-colored to brownish, glabrous, spiny; number of coils 3.5-6 (-7), turning clockwise; coil surface with 5-8 veins, forming elongated cells near and parallel to the edge, then entering the lateral vein; lateral veins prominent, higher than the dorsal suture which lies in a furrow with elevated sides; between these and the lateral veins are grooves bridged by roots of the spines; thus, the edge of the coil consists of 4 ridges and 3 grooves; spines 13-15 in each row, 1.5-3.5 mm long, thin and soft, arching over the sides of the coils; the tubercled form is rather rare.
Seed shape: Kidney-shaped but often flattened along the edge, adjacent to radicle-rectangular, 1-3 seeds in each coil, separated; seed coat smooth, light brown to dark orange; radicle longer than half of the seed, its tip protruding.
Fruit size: Lenght 4-8 mm, thickness (4- ) 5-7 mm
Seed size: Length 2.5-3 mm, maximum width 1.5-2 mm in an accession from Mazandaran with 1000 seed weight 2 g, which was collected in 1997, and the cultivated sample was identified by Masumeh Izadpanah and Iraj Mehregan with accession number 2337.
1000 seed weight: 2 g
Biological features
Life form: Herbaceous, annual, decumbent
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 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: March-Jun
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: Native to the Mediterranean region and introduced in North and South America and Australia.
Distribution in Iran: North. Golestan
Taxonomy
Family: Papilionaceae
Genus: Medicago
Species: arabica
Common name: Spotted Medick
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.
