Author: navidcod 
Medicago intertexta
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: Greyish to dark brown, roundish to elongate, height is slightly longer than width, convex at both ends, glabrous, spiny; number of coils (6-) 8-11 (-12), loose, turning clockwise; veins 6-9, forming a coarse net in the outer half of the coil surface, from which one vein enters one root of each spine; spines 16-19 in a row, 2.5-6 mm long, grooved to ± half their length, inserted at 90°-120° to the facial plane, arching and usually interlocking with spines of adjacent coils.
Seed type: Kidney-shaped but often flattened along edge adjacent to radicle, 1-2 seeds in each coil, separated; seed coat smooth, dark brown to black; radicle shorter than half the length of the seed.
Fruit size: Diameter (6- ) 9-11, hight (8-) 12-15 mm
Seed size: Length 5 mm, maximum width 2.8 mm in an accession from Shushtar, Khuzestan with 1000 seed weight 2.2 g, which was collected in 1995, and the cultivated sample was identified by Masumeh Izadpanah and Iraj Mehregan with accession number 2405.
1000 seed weight: 2-3 g
Biological features
Life form: Herbaceous, annual, decumbent 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 to orange-yellow, wings longer 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: Mediterranean region and Portugal.
Distribution in Iran:
Taxonomy
Family: Papilionaceae
Genus: Medicago
Species: intertexta
Common name: Hedgehog 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.
