Author: navidcod 
Medicago sativa
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 editors: 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: Curled, indehiscent, light to dark yellow-brown, coiled in a spiral, glabrous or with appressed simple (rarely glandular) hairs, spineless; number of coils 1-5, turning clockwise; many veins starting from the ventral suture running obliquely, branching somewhat, then anastomosing in the outer part of the coil surface.
Seed shape: Kidney–shape to ovoid but often flattened along edge adjacent to radicle, 2–6 seeds in pods; seed coat smooth brownish or greenish-yellow; radicle slightly over half the seed length
Fruit size: Diamete: 3-8 mm
Seed size: Length 2.5-4.5 mm, maximum width 0.8-1.5 mm, thickness 0.3-1 mm in an accession from Share Kurd, Chaharmahal with 1000 seed weight 2.3 g, which was collected in 2000, and the cultivated sample was identified by Masumeh Izadpanah and Iraj Mehregan with accession number 1480.
1000 seed weight: 0.5 – 3.8 g
Biological features
Life form: Herbaceous, perennial, erect
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) violet, lavender, rarely pink or white, 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 to September (rarely October)
Time of seed ripening: May to October (rarely November)
Seed dispersal methods: The seeds are displaced by weight. Pods move by attaching to the wool and hair of animals.
Geographical distribution: Turkey, Europe, Iraq, Turcomania, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran. Typus according to Flora Iranica: Hispania et Gallia, Herb. BM-CLIFF! Herb. LINN933/6!
Distribution in Iran: West, North, East, South, and center. All around the country
Taxonomy
Family: Papilionaceae
Genus: Medicago
Species: sativa
Common name: Lucerne, alfalfa
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.
