Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Bur Medick - Medicago minima   (L.) L.
Members of Fabaceae:
Members of Medicago with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Order Fabales » Family Fabaceae
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Author(L.) L.
DistributionA specimen collected in 1929 from Badin in Stanly County is at herbarium CM (Duaill 1573); however, there are no label data or images. Website editors will accept this record for now. A specimen from Bladen County in 1958 appears to be M. arabica, due to the conspicuous reddish spot on leaflets and the very broad outer end of leaflets (Ahles and Ramseur 23576 DUKE). A third specimen was cultivated at Mason Farm in Orange County.

Native of Eurasia; in N.A. mostly southern states, north to MA, MI, KS, and WA.
AbundanceVery rare.
HabitatNo data.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting April-August.
IdentificationLike M. arabica, this medick has spiny fruits rolled into a ball. In this species the spines grow in 2-3 rows (vs. only 2 in that species) and spines are hooked at the end (vs. merely curved). The leaflets lack a dark reddish spot that is present in M. arabica.
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State RankSE
Global RankGNR
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