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Home  /  Plants  /  Budburst Species  /  Medicago sativa
Phenology Observation Sheet for Wildflowers and Herbs

COMMON NAME

Alfalfa

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Medicago sativa

ALSO KNOWN AS

lucerne, purple medick

Plant family

Pea (Fabaceae)

Plant group

Wildflowers and Herbs

Alfalfa is a small perennial leguminous native to Europe and introduced to North America. It is cultivated as forage but has escaped cultivation and is also weedy and competitive with native plants in some parts of the US and Canada.
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OBSERVERS
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OBSERVATIONS
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Identification hints

There are many clover-like plants that have leaves in threes, similar to alfalfa. Alfalfa is distinct in having teeth just on the upper half of the leaflets and clusters of small purple flowers. A subspecies of Medicago sativa, ssp. falcata has yellow flowers instead of purple. Sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis) leaves are very similar but have teeth all along leaf margins and the yellow flowers are arranged in spikes rather than the cylindrical clusters of alfalfa.
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Did you know?

Alfalfa is the most important forage crop in the world and was first grown to feed livestock in Iran where it is native. Alfalfa sprouts, the sprouted seeds, are a popular salad and sandwich ingredient. Alfalfa is also used in re-vegetation and restoration projects since it provides food for wildlife as well as helping to improve soils. As with other members of the pea family, it is a nitrogen fixing plant which means that bacteria in its root nodules can take nitrogen from the air. Although alfalfa is an important crop, it has escaped cultivation and acts as a competitive weed out-competing native plants in some parts of North America.
DISTRIBUTION IN TH U.S.
Alaska , Alabama , Arkansas , Arizona , California , Colorado , Connecticut , Delaware , Florida , Georgia , Hawaii , Iowa , Idaho , Illinois , Indiana , Kansas , Kentucky , Louisiana , Massachusetts , Maryland , Maine , Michigan , Minnesota , Missouri , Mississippi , Montana , North Carolina , North Dakota , Nebraska , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New Mexico , Nevada , New York , Ohio , Oklahoma , Oregon , Pennsylvania , Puerto Rico , Rhode Island , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas , Utah , Virginia , Vermont , Washington , Wisconsin , West Virginia , Wyoming
HABITAT
Alfalfa thrives in every state. It is generally found as a cultivated crop, but it has naturalized in disturbed habitats. It is found in fields, pastures, and rangelands. Alfalfa is able to grow on a variety of soils, but does best on rich, well-drained loamy soils. In some regions, alfalfa can become weedy and displace desirable native vegetation.
ATTRIBUTES
Leaves
Leaves in groups of three such that one leaflet up to one inch long and a third of an inch wide. The leaflets are widest in the middle and narrow at the edges with occasional teeth at the tips. Leaves range from blue-tinged green to olive.
Flowers
Alfalfa has small cylindrical clusters of 5-30 flowers that usually range from purple to white in color. Each flower cluster is placed at the end of a small branch. Alfalfa flowers look like mini pea flowers up to a third of an inch long with an upper petal that stays erect, two small lateral petals, and a keel in between.
Fruits
Alfalfa produces pods that are up to a third of an inch in diameter. The pods spiral in 2-4 tight coils that turn from yellow green to darker brown when mature. Each pod contains on average 10 seeds. The seeds are smooth and yellowish brown.
Bloom Time
The leaves start to grow in spring. The flowers bloom from June to September depending on latitude and elevation.

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