Jepson Interchange (more information)
Print edition is available from the University of California Press
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This page is based on the 1993 Jepson Manual.
Please see the Jepson eFlora for up-to-date information about California vascular plants. |
| Jepson Flora Project: Jepson Interchange |
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TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL |
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Jepson Interchange (more information) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
Print edition is available from the University of California Press |
| The second edition of The Jepson Manual (2012) is available from the University of California Press | |
| See also the Jepson eFlora, which parallels the Second Edition |
Annual to tree
Leaves generally compound, alternate, stipuled; leaflets generally entire
Inflorescence: generally raceme, spike, umbel or head; flowers sometime 1–2 in axils
Flowers generally bisexual, generally bilateral; hypanthium generally flat or cup-like; sepals generally 5, fused; petals generally 5, free, or the 2 lower ± fused; stamens 1–many, often 10 with 9 filaments at least partly fused, 1 (uppermost) free; pistil 1, ovary superior, generally 1-chambered, ovules 1–many, style, stigma 1
Fruit: legume, sometimes including a stalk-like base above receptacle, dehiscent, or indehiscent and breaking into 1-seeded segments, or indehiscent, 1-seeded, and achene-like
Seeds 1–several, often ± reniform, generally hard, smooth
Genera in family: ± 650 genera, 18,000 species: worldwide; with grasses, requisite in agriculture and most natural ecosystems. Many cultivated, most importantly Arachis , peanut; Glycine , soybean; Phaseolus , beans; Medicago ; Trifolium ; and many orns.[Polhill & Raven (eds) 1981 Advances in legume systematics; Allen & Allen 1981 Leguminosae] Family description and key to genera by Duane Isely.
Annual or perennial herb, unarmed
Stem prostrate to erect
Leaves generally odd-1-pinnate, sometimes subpalmately compound; stipules somewhat fused with petiole, entire or deeply cut; leaflets 3, generally toothed near tip
Inflorescence: raceme, axillary or terminal, few–many-flowered
Flower: calyx lobes ± equal or not; corolla yellow or purple; 9 filaments fused, 1 free
Fruit indehiscent, generally coiled 1.5–5 turns, generally prickly
Seeds 1–several
Species in genus: ± 55 species: Eurasia (especially Medit); several cultivated and naturalized worldwide
Etymology: (Medea, source of alfalfa, which then bore Greek name Medice)
Reference: [Small & Jomphe 1989 Can J Bot 67:3260–3294]
| Introduced |
Annual, generally glabrous
Stem prostrate, mat-forming, or ascending, 1–4 dm
Leaf: stipules generally cut 1/2 width or deeper; leaflets generally 1–2 cm, generally wedge-shaped or obovate, length 1–2 X width
Inflorescence 2–6-flowered
Flower: calyx ± 3 mm; corolla 3.5–6 mm, yellow
Fruit coiled 2–6 turns, ovoid to short-cylindric; prickles ± straight, hooked, or 0
Seeds few
Chromosomes: 2n=14
Ecology: Abundant. Disturbed and agricultural areas
Elevation: < 1500 m.
Bioregional distribution: California Floristic Province
Distribution outside California: widespread in s US, elsewhere; native to Mediterranean
Synonyms: M. hispida Gaertn., including var. confinus (Koch) Burnat
Provides spring pasture in CA; bur-like fruits lodge in animal fur.
| YOU CAN HELP US make sure that our distributional information is correct and current. If you know that a plant occurs in a wild, reproducing state in a Jepson bioregion NOT highlighted on the map, please contact us with that information. Please realize that we cannot incorporate range extensions without access to a voucher specimen, which should (ultimately) be deposited in an herbarium. You can send the pressed, dried collection (with complete locality information indicated) to us (e-mail us for details) or refer us to an accessioned herbarium specimen. Non-occurrence of a plant in an indicated area is difficult to document, but we will especially value your input on those types of possible errors (see automatic conversion of distribution data to maps). |
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