Medicago polymorpha (Bur-Clover) - Naturalized

3/12/17 Vernal Pool Trail, Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve,

Murrieta, SW Riverside County, CA

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: Bur-Clover

SPECIES: Medicago polymorpha

FAMILY: Fabaceae (Pea Family)

LIFE LIST DATE: 3/12/17

LOCATION: Vernal Pool Trail, Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, Murrieta, SW Riverside County, CA

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Treatment from Jepson eFlora:

NATURALIZED

Habit: Annual, generally glabrous. 

Stem: prostrate, mat-forming, or ascending, 1--5 dm. 

Leaf: stipules generally cut +- >= 1/2 width; leaflets generally 10--20 mm, wedge-shaped to obcordate, length 1--2 × width. 

Inflorescence: 2--6-flowered. 

Flower: calyx +- 3 mm; corolla 3.5--6 mm, yellow. 

Fruit: a loose spiral, coiled 2--6 turns, ovate to short-cylindric; gray to black, generally prickly, hairs 0. 

Seed: several. 

Ecology: Common. Chaparral, oak woodland, streambanks, roadsides, disturbed areas; 

Elevation: < 1500 m. 

Bioregional Distribution: CA-FP; 

Distribution Outside California: widespread in southern United States, warm-temp; native to Mediterranean, Europe. 

Flowering Time: Mar--Jul 

Note: Provides spring pasture in California; bur-like fruits lodge in fur.