Medicago sativa L. (Syn: Medica sativa Lam.; Medicago afganica (Bordere) Vassilcz.; Medicago alaschanica Vassilcz.; Medicago asiatica subsp. sinensis Sinskaya; Medicago beipinensis Vassilcz.; Medicago grandiflora (Grossh.) Vassilcz.; Medicago ladak Vassilcz.; Medicago mesopotamica Vassilcz.; Medicago orientalis Vassilcz.; Medicago pekinensis Vassilcz.; Medicago polia (Brand) Vassilcz.; Medicago praesativa Sinskaya; Medicago praesativa subsp. spontanea Sinsk.; Medicago roborovskii Vassilcz.; Medicago sativa f. alba Benke; Medicago sativa var. grandiflora Grossh. ; Medicago sativa var. tibetana Alef.; Medicago sogdiana (Brand) Vassilcz.; Medicago tibetana (Alef.) Vassilcz.; Trigonella upendrae H.J.Chowdhery & R.R.Rao); . med-DIK-ah-go — from ancient Greek medike, referring to media sa-TEE-vuh — cultivated . commonly known as: alfafa, bastard medic, buffal herb, lucerne, purple medic, sand lucerne • Gujarati: વિલાયતી ઘાસ vilayati ghas • Hindi: लुसन घास lusan ghas • Kannada: ಲುಸರ್ನೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು lusarne soppu, ವಿಲಾಯಿತಿ ಹುಲ್ಲು vilaayiti hullu • Marathi: विलायती गवत vilayati gavat • Punjabi: ਦੁਰੇਸ਼ਤਾ dureshta, ਸਿੰਝੀ sinjhi • Sanskrit: अश्वाबला ashvabala • Tamil: குதிரை மசால் kutirai macal . Native to: n Africa, Eurasia; widely naturalized / cultivated elsewhere . Perennial tufted herb with ovate-lanceolate stipules, 10-25 mm long leaflets, white blue or purple flowers in 5-30 flowered racemes or heads on very long peduncles; fruit 5-9 mm, tightly coiled, . I don’t think at this stage (in flower) it could be used as vegetable. Although tender leaves can be consumed as vegetable, the plants is mostly used as cattle fodder and often cultivated for it. .
Medicago sativa ??021111-PKA2: Yes Medica sativa, very common in Ladakh and Kashmir . Fabaceae-Faboideae (Papilionaceae) Week: -Medicago sativa: Yes … Very common in Ladakh and Kashmir valley, blue is much more commoner. 2nd image appears closer to images at Medicago falcata L.
Fabaceae-Faboideae (Papilionaceae) Week ::Medicago sativa (Alfalfa) from Uruli Kanchan, Pune: Sending photos of Alfalfa. Place : Uruli Kanchan, Pune Date : May 2009 Habitat : Cultivated These are fed to the cows of the Uruli Kanchan Ashram. Yes … Great to see this in large plantation.
Fabaceae-Faboideae (Papilionaceae) Week :: Medicago sativa at Rajgurunagar near Pune: Medicago sativa L. med-DIK-ah-go — from ancient Greek medike, referring to media sa-TEE-vuh — cultivated May 29, 2010 … at Rajguru Nagar, near Pune The close up of these tiny flowers looks very cute. But why the name ‘Bastard Medic’ for such an important medicinal herb? …. could not find any information on internet regarding reasoning for such name. .    Fabaceae-Faboideae (Papilionaceae) Week: Medicago sativa from Kashmir: Medicago sativa Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 778. 1753. Common names: Alfalfa, Lucerne Perennial tufted herb with ovate-lanceolate stipules, 10-25 mm long leaflets, white blue or purple flowers in 5-30 flowered racemes or heads on very long peduncles; fruit 5-9 mm, tightly coiled, Very common in Kashmir valley in pastures and lawns, photographed from Botanical garden in Srinagar, Kashmir I still wonder about the reason of the genus name Medicago for the plant.. . Fabaceae-Faboideae (Papilionaceae) Week :: Medicago sativa-PKA25: Bot.name: Medicago sativa (Family: Fabaceae) Date/Time: 18-09-2011 / 01:45PM Location: near Turtuk Village, Ladakh (altitude approx.:11000 ft.) Habitat: Wild Plant habit Herb.
efloraofindia:”For Id 18032013MR1’’ stem with purple flowers at Pune : 3 images. 16/03/2012 requesting identification of this stem with purple flowers. I found this in one of the green leafy vegetables that I purchased. Medicago sativa, alfalfa A beautiful find in the vegetable. Thank you … Yes the flowers were beautiful and so also the leaves which appeared toothed at the tip. I don’t think at this stage (in flower) it could be used as vegetable. It must have come along with some vegetable, although tender leaves can be consumed as vegetable, the plants is mostly used as cattle fodder and often cultivated for it.
Fabaceae (Faboideae) Fortnight :: Medicago sativa :: Rajgurunagar :: DVOCT93 : 1 post by 1 author. 3 images. Medicago sativa L. at Rajgurunagar on May 29, 2010 . Fabaceae (Faboideae) Fortnight: Medicago sativa from Kashmir-GSOCT46/51 : 2 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (3) Medicago sativa Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 778. 1753. Common names: Alfalfa, Lucerne Perennial tufted herb with ovate-lanceolate stipules, 10-25 mm long leaflets, white blue or purple flowers in 5-30 flowered racemes or heads on very long peduncles; fruit 5-9 mm, tightly coiled, Very common in Kashmir valley in pastures and lawns, photographed from Botanical garden in Srinagar, Kashmir these flowers are more intensely hued than what we see in north american lawns
Fabaceae (Faboideae)Fortnight:Medicago sativa::Ladakh ::PKA-OCT-51:: : 3 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (3) Seen this herb with trifoliolate leaves near Turtuk Village, Ladakh. very nice pictures but i have never seen alfa alfa to be this intense colored flowers. nice to see this variation
SK101SEP16-1016:ID : 4 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (3) This is clearly a member of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae). Photos not in close-up, the final image out-of-focus with the flowers an foliage unopened. The image showing the young pods does not show much detail. Straggly, maybe depauperate, is the correct description for this specimen. All-in-all, this makes it much harder to be sure. My initial thoughts are an immature ‘Lucerne’ or ‘Alfalfa’ Medicago sativa – the location fits as is cultivated in irrigated fields but open to other suggestions. Picture not so good quality. It was in a cultivated field.
Altitude: Around 11000 Date: 21August 2014 Habit : Wild Pl. check Medicago sativa L. ??? I also think closer to images at Medicago sativa Please help with the English transcribed name of Nepali name लुसर्न घाँस lusarna ghaansa … Wikipedia. Seeking help regarding Nepali name of Medicago sativa L. There is no Nepali name as such. They might have directly translated for lucerne ! Yes, thank you, … The name is transcribed from the foreign name – lucerne, globally popular name for the “queen of forages” – Medicago sativa L.
Medicago sativa from Kashmir – efloraofindia | Google Groups . Medicago sativa- Ladakh: 25 images. . Identification required 866: 3 high res. images. Please check Fabaceae ! Medicago sativa I also agree as per images at Medicago sativa L. . Malayalam names of Medicago sativa L.: Please help with the English spellings of these Malayalam names: അൽഫാൽഫ and ലുസേൺ … Wikipedia. These are not Malayalam names, and I never heard this kind of Malayalam names. English spellings are: You are correct that the names are not Malayalam, however, those two foreign names are popular world-wide, and can almost be considered as trade names. As per your regular transcription, I am putting the English transcribed names as follows: അൽഫാൽഫ – alphaalpha ലുസേൺ – lusen Please correct me if I am wrong. . Names of Plants in India :: Medicago sativa L.: med-DIK-ah-go — from the ancient Greek medike – meaning medic grass … Dave’s Botanary • PlantUse English sa-TEE-vuh — cultivated … Dave’s Botanarycommonly known as: alfalfa, buffalo herb, lucerne, purple medic • Gujarati: ગદબ gadab, ઘોડાઘાસ ghodaghaas, લચકો lachko, રજકો rajako, વિલાયતી ઘાસ vilayati ghas, વિલાયતી મેથી vilayati methi • Hindi: अल्फाल्फा alfalfa, लुसन घास lusan ghas, रिज़का rizka • Kachchhi: રીંજકો rinjako • Kannada: ಆಲ್ಫಾಲ್ಫ alphalpha, ಕುದುರೆ ಮಸಾಲೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು kudure masaale soppu, ಲುಸರ್ನೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು lusarne soppu, ವಿಲಾಯಿತಿ ಹುಲ್ಲು vilaayiti hullu • Kashmiri: बेरसीन् baerseen • Konkani: लसुन घास lasun ghaas, लुजेन luzen • Ladakhi: Yarkandi ole • Malayalam: അൽഫാൽഫ alphaalpha, ലുസേൺ lusen • Marathi: लसूण घास lasun ghas, लुजेन lujen, विलायती गवत vilayati gavat • Nepali: लुसर्न घाँस lusarna ghaansa • Punjabi: ਅਲਫਾਲਫਾ alaphalapha, ਦੁਰੇਸ਼ਤਾ dureshta, ਲੂਸਣ lusana, ਸਿੰਝੀ sinjhi • Rajasthani: रिज़का rijka • Sanskrit: अश्वाबला ashvabala • Tamil: குதிரை மசால் kutirai macal • Telugu: అల్ఫాల్ఫా alphalpha • Urdu: برسیم bersimbotanical names: Medicago sativa L. … accepted infraspecifics: Medicago sativa subsp. sativa … and more at POWO Bibliography / etymology Links listed as references in the notes below, may not remain valid permanently. Portals / websites have a tendency to re-organize / revise their content, leading to change in URLs of pages in their site. Some sites may even close down at their own will. ~~~~~ ENGLISH ~~~~~ written and spoken widely, in most parts of India alfalfa, lucerne
buffalo herb (or buffalo grass), purple medic ~~~~~ GUJARATI ~~~~~ written in: Gujarati (ગુજરાતી) … spoken in: Gujarat, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu ગદબ gadab, ઘોડાઘાસ ghodaghaas
લચકો lachko
રજકો rajako, વિલાયતી ઘાસ vilayati ghas
વિલાયતી મેથી vilayati methi
~~~~~ HINDI ~~~~~ written in: Devanagari (हिन्दी) … spoken in: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan अल्फाल्फा alfalfa
लुसन घास lusan ghas, रिज़का rizka ~~~~~ KACHCHHI ~~~~~ written in: Gujarati (કચ્છી), Sindhi (ڪڇّي) … spoken in: Kutch region of Gujarat રીંજકો rinjako
~~~~~ KANNADA ~~~~~ written in: Kannada (ಕನ್ನಡ) … spoken in: Karnataka ಆಲ್ಫಾಲ್ಫ alphalpha
ಕುದುರೆ ಮಸಾಲೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು kudure masaale soppu, ಲುಸರ್ನೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು lusarne soppu, ವಿಲಾಯಿತಿ ಹುಲ್ಲು vilaayiti hullu ~~~~~ KASHMIRI ~~~~~ written in: Koshur (Perso-Arabic كٲشُر), Devanagari (कश्मीरी), … spoken in: Kashmir बेरसीन् baerseen
~~~~~ KONKANI ~~~~~ written in: Devanagari, Kannada, Malayalam, Urdu, Roman … spoken in: Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala लसुन घास lasun ghaas, लुजेन luzen
~~~~~ LADAKHI ~~~~~ written in: Tibetan (ལ་དྭགས་སྐད་) … spoken in: Ladakh Yarkandi ole
~~~~~ MALAYALAM ~~~~~ written in: Malayalam (മലയാളം) … spoken in: Kerala അൽഫാൽഫ alphaalpha, ലുസേൺ lusen
~~~~~ MARATHI ~~~~~ written in: Devanagari (मराठी) … spoken in: Maharashtra, Karnataka लसूण घास lasun ghas, लुजेन lujen, विलायती गवत vilayati gavat ~~~~~ NEPALI ~~~~~ written in: Devanagari (नेपाली) … spoken in: Nepal, West Bengal, Assam, Sikkim लुसर्न घाँस lusarna ghaansa
~~~~~ PUNJABI ~~~~~ written in: Gurmukhi (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ) … spoken in: Punjab ਅਲਫਾਲਫਾ alaphalapha
ਦੁਰੇਸ਼ਤਾ dureshta, ਸਿੰਝੀ sinjhi
ਲੂਸਣ lusana
~~~~~ RAJASTHANI ~~~~~ written in: Devanagari (राजस्थानी) … spoken in: Rajasthan रिज़का rijka
~~~~~ SANSKRIT ~~~~~ written in: Devanagari (संस्कृतम्) … used all over India by priests and scholars अश्वाबला ashvabala ~~~~~ TAMIL ~~~~~ written in: Tamil (தமிழ்) … spoken in: Tamil Nadu குதிரை மசால் kutirai macal
~~~~~ TELUGU ~~~~~ written in: Telugu ( తెలుగు) … spoken in: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana అల్ఫాల్ఫా alphalpha
~~~~~ URDU ~~~~~ written in: Urdu (اردو) … spoken in: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka برسیم bersim
~~~~~ DISTRIBUTION in INDIA ~~~~~ widely cultivated throughout India ~~~~~ x ~~~~~ Kannada names & their English transliteration are correct. In this connection, I wish to state that the name ‘ವಿಲಾಯಿತಿ ಹುಲ್ಲು’, adopted from FRLHT ENVIS, when translated to English means FOREIGN GRASS. In my view, it is not an appropriate Kannada word. However, It is up to you to keep the word or omit. Choice is yours. ವಿಲಾಯಿತಿ ಹುಲ್ಲು = foreign grass – we will keep this name in our compilation. Any foreign plant that is cultivated commercially, gets the prefix “foreign” automatically added to the regular regional name. In this instance, it is fodder (thus gets equated to grass), thus it is justified. More such names for this plant, are in Gujarati and Marathi … Gujarati: વિલાયતી ઘાસ vilayati ghas, વિલાયતી મેથી vilayati methi; Marathi: विलायती गवत vilayati gavat In Kannada, similar names for other plants, for example are: vilayathi haralu (Jatropha gossypifolia), vilayathi hatthi (Gossypium barbadense), vilayathi mallige (Quisqualis indica), vilayathi tulasi (Hyptis suaveolens) . Help identify this Fabaceae (Desmodium Sp ?): 5 images. Please help identify this plant with beautiful violet flowers. It was growing wild on a dry sloping side of a bund in Rawathpora Srinagar. It is a herb branched at base has leaves with three leaflets and violet flowers with very short 1mm long pedicils (see photos). All photos were taken today only (30 June 2025). Is it Desmodium species and if so what species . Would be grateful for help in identification Are these mobile shots ? Images are so unclear. Cannot zoom. Yes , unfortunately had to take the pictures while walking. The other pictures taken with a cut branch placed on graph paper are I think better Hope they help The height is between 4-6 inches (10-15cm) Pl. check as images not clear: Thanks for the suggestion, As you can see from the photo of a branch placed on graph paper the leaflets are just about 7mm long and 2mm wide but in lucerne they are 10 -25 mm long. Also lucerne is a tall grass but this has a spreading habit with branches just about 4 inches above ground. The petals also are just 2-3 mm long See photo of flower on graph paper (1 square=1mm). I think it is very different from M.sativa.
Photos taken on 3July2025 2 images.
I think the stipules rule out M.sativa. Flora of China says “… Stipules ovate-lanceolate, base entire or with 1 or 2 denticles, apex acute; ….” I think id is correct with your additional images. One more photo
All photos taken on 5/July/2025 All photos posted by me at this site are under CC licence (attribution only needed for commercial or noncommercial use)
Note flask shaped ovary with triangular (trifid ?) stigma For graph paper 1 small square =1mm
I hope with all the photos the plant can now be identified by experts Thanks for the suggestion Flora of China mentions ovary linear but if you see the photos of ovary I have posted ovary is flask shaped with a distinct curvature. Two photos of stigma seen from front. Densely covered with papillae. Mag X 50. The the previous photos of Stigma I posted were at a much higher mag. Could be M.sativa as stem is (rarely) prostrate Am attaching a illustration in public domain Wikimedia Commons. (Attribution Amédée Masclef, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons) The linear ovary in the illustration is very different from the ovary in my plant (photo attached) Would request opinion of experts. Prostrate habit and shape of ovary make identification as M.sativa problematic for me. Or I could be confused as I do not have much experience in the field I keep it as M.sativa? for the time being. Medicago sativa L. is correct ? Thanks for the identification, I agree it is M. Sativa but it has some features which could suggest it to be a sub species perhaps endemic to Kashmir valley. The most notable thing apart from its small leaflets is the morphology of the ovary (see attached photos). The most noticeable things are: 1. The ovary is about 5mm long of which lower 3/5ths is green but upper 2/5ths is white and translucent. The shape of the lower 3/5ths green part is linear as reported in FOC. 2. At the transition between the green and white portion the ovary dilates into a flask like structure with a tapering neck with the stigma at the end. It was this expanded part which first misled me into supposing that ovary is not linear but flask shaped. 3. The style does not appear to be clearly demarcated from the ovary but it seems that the stigma is borne sessile on the tapering part. Thus it is possible that it is a subspecies differing from the type species in having small leaves, prostrate habit and peculiar morphology of the ovary . References: |
Medicago sativa
Updated on July 19, 2025