Southern Medick

Annual, Herbs, Taproot present, Nodule s present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems less than 1 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs sparsely to densely hairy, Stem hairs hispid to villous, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules conspicuous, Stipules green, triangulate to lanceolate or foliaceous, Stipules persistent, Stipules free, Stipules toothed or laciniate, Leaves compound, Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate, Leaves odd pinnate, Leaflets dentate or denticulate, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets 3, Leaves glabrous or nearly so, Leaves hairy on one or both surfaces, Flowers in axillary clusters or few-floweredracemes, 2-6 flowers, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence axillary, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx hairy, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals orange or yellow, Banner petal ovoid or obovate, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing petals auriculate, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel tips obtuse or rounded, not beaked, Stamens 9-10, Stamens diadelphous, 9 unit ed, 1 free, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Fruit a legume, Fruit unilocular, Fruit indehiscent, Fruit spirally coiled or contorted, Fruit coriaceous or becoming woody, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit enclosed in calyx, Fruit spiny, bur-like, with hooked bristles or prickles, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit 2-seeded, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Seeds reniform, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.

Medicago turbinata, the Southern medick, is a plant species of the genus Medicago It is found throughout the Mediterranean basin. It forms a symbiotic relationship with the bacterium Sinorhizobium medicae, which is capable of nitrogen fixation. An unidentified lectin isolated from M. turbinata has shown limited usefulness as a phytohaemagglutinin. The seed weight is 4.66 pounds.