Author: navidcod 
Medicago doliata
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: Light gray to black, spherical to oblong-oval, spineless, tubercled or spiny; glabrate, or covered with simple or glandular hairs, or with both types; number of coils 5-9, turning clockwise or anticlockwise, tightly appressed, hard-walled; coil surface with 8-10 slightly curved, often indistinct veins; lateral veins on the same level as the dorsal suture, lower or higher than it; spines, if present, 1-4 mm long, 10-14 in each row, inserted at 150°-180° to the surface of the coil; their broadly conical base usually embedded in alveolar tissue, their tips thin and often hooked.
Seed type: Kidney-shaped but often flattened along edge adjacent to radicle, 1-3 seeds in each coil, separated, varying often considerably in size within a single pod; seed coat smooth, yellow; radicle less than half the seed length.
Fruit size: Diameter: (6- ) 8-10
Seed size: Length (3- ) 4.3-5 mm, maximum width (2- ) 2.5-3 mm, size variation among seeds within a single pod is high.
1000 seed weight: 8.4-16 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) 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-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:
Distribution in Iran: Lorestan
Taxonomy
Family: Papilionaceae
Genus: Medicago
Species: doliata
Common name: Straight-spined 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.
