Common Name: Black Medick

General Information

Medicago lupulina is an annual to short-lived perennial plant with prostrate, decumbent or ascending, much-branched stems growing from a taproot; it can grow 15 - 60cm tall[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. It is sometimes grown as a green manure.
Medicago lupulina has been introduced by human acivity to many parts of the world, from the temperate to the tropical zones. It has often become established and is treated as an invasive weed in countries such as New Zealand and several Pacific Islands[].

Known Hazards

The seed is said to contain trypsin inhibitors[]. These can interfere with certain enzymes that help in the digestion of proteins, but are normally destroyed if the seed is sprouted first.

Botanical References

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Range

Eurasia - Norway to Spain, east through the Caucasus and Turkey to China and the Himalayas; N. Africa - Macaronesia, Morocco to Egypt, Levant, Arabia

Habitat

Grassy places and roadsides[], often occurring as a garden weed on both acid and calcareous soils[]. Stream banks, roadsides, waste fields, woodland margins[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Annual/Perennial
Height	0.45 m
Growth Rate	Medium
Pollinators	Bees, Lepidoptera, Self
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Medicago lupulina is a plant of the temperate zone, where it is found at elevations up to 3,600 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 14 - 25°c, but can tolerate 3 - 30°c[]. The young growth in spring can be severely damaged at temperatures below -2°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 600 - 1,000mm, but tolerates 310 - 1,700mm[].
Grows best in a sunny position, tolerating light shade[]. Succeeds in a wide range of soils[], though it dislikes acid soils[]. (This conflicts with the notes on its habitat above.) Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7, tolerating 4.5 - 8.2[].
A good food plant for many caterpillars[].
A very variable species[].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[].

Edible Uses

Leaves - cooked[]. Used as a potherb[]. A nutritional analysis is available[].

Seed - cooked[, , ]. Parched and eaten or ground into a powder[]. The seed is said to contain trypsin inhibitors[]. These can interfere with certain enzymes that help in the digestion of proteins, but are normally destroyed if the seed is sprouted first. The brown, ovoid seed is rather small, with a single seed contained in a pod about 3m x 2mm[].

Medicinal

Aqueous extracts of the plant have antibacterial properties against micro-organisms[, ].

The plant is lenitive[, ].

Agroforestry Uses:

A good green manure plant, enriching the soil with nitrogen. It is fairly deep rooted, has a long vegetative period, has good resistance to 'Clover rot' but it is not very fast growing[]. It can be undersown with cereals, succeeding even in a wet season[, ].
The plant grows well with grasses and responds well to regular cutting - it can be grown as as part of a lawn mixture so long as the lawn does not receive heavy foot traffic[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and then sow in spring in situ[]. The seed can also be sown in situ in autumn.
Green manure crops can be sown in situ from early spring until early autumn[]. (the later sowings are for an over-wintering crop)