Taxon: Medicago sativa L. subsp. falcata (L.) Arcang.

Summary

Genus:

Medicago

Section:

Medicago

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Faboideae

Tribe:

Trifolieae

Nomen number:

104918

Place of publication:

Comp. fl. ital. 160. 1882

Verified:

09/13/1988 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

610 (453 active, 384 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Medicago sativa L. (19 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. nothosubsp. tunetana Murb. (7 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. nothosubsp. varia (Martyn) Arcang. (437 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. subsp. caerulea (Less. ex Ledeb.) Schmalh. (97 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. subsp. falcata (L.) Arcang. var. falcata (L.) Döll (0 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. subsp. falcata (L.) Arcang. var. viscosa (Rchb.) Posp. (15 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. subsp. glomerata (Balb.) Rouy (12 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. subsp. sativa (3377 active accession[s])
Medicago sativa L. var. sativa (0 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Medicago falcata L.

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Medicago falcata L. subsp. falcata
Medicago falcata L. var. falcata

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Medicago borealis Grossh.
Medicago difalcata Sinskaya
Medicago falcata L. var. romanica (Prodán) O. Schwarz & Klink.
Medicago quasifalcata Sinskaya
Medicago romanica Prodán
Medicago tenderiensis Opperman ex Klokov

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Barnes, D. K. et al. 1977. Alfalfa germplasm in the United States: genetic vulnerability, use, improvement and maintenance. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1571:1-21.
Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands. Note: = Medicago falcata L
Duke, J. A. 1981. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance Note: = Medicago falcata L
Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Gunn, C. R. et al. 1978. Classification of Medicago sativa L. using legume characters and flower colors. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1574:15.
Havananda, T. et al. 2010. Relationships among diploid members of the Medicago sativa (Fabaceae) species complex based on chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Syst. Bot. 35:140-150. www.aspt.net/systematic-botany
Havananda, T. et al. 2011. Complex patterns of autopolyploidy evolution in alfalfa and allies (Medicago sativa; Leguminosae). Amer. J. Bot. 98:1633-1646.
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11. Note: = Medicago falcata L
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares. Note: = Medicago falcata L
Isely, D. 1983. Classification of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and relatives. Iowa State J. Res. 57:215. Note: = Medicago falcata L
Isely, D. 1998. Native and naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the United States (exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii)
Ivanov, A. I. 1980. Alfalfa [Lyutserna]. In Lenin Acad. Agric. Sciences, D. D. Brezhnev, ed.
Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist. Note: = Medicago falcata L
Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: = Medicago falcata
Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1961. Webster's third new international dictionary.

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	sickle alfalfa		1	Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
English	sickle medic		1	Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
English	sickle medick		1	Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
English	yellow alfalfa		1	1961. Webster's third new international dictionary.
English	yellow lucerne		1	Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
English	yellow-flower alfalfa	as Medicago falcata	1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: = Medicago falcata
French	luzerne de Suède	as Medicago falcata	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: = Medicago falcata
French	luzerne jaune	as Medicago falcata	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: = Medicago falcata
German	Sichelklee	as Medicago falcata	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: = Medicago falcata
German	Sichelluzerne	as Medicago falcata	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: = Medicago falcata
Portuguese	luzerna-de-sequeiro	as Medicago falcata	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: = Medicago falcata
Portuguese (Brazil)	alfafa-de-provença		2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	alfafa-falciforme		2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Spanish	alfalfa amarilla	as Medicago falcata	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: = Medicago falcata
Spanish	alfalfa sueca	as Medicago falcata	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: = Medicago falcata
Swedish	gul-lusern		2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Transcribed Chinese	ye mu xu	as Medicago falcata	2	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: as Medicago falcata

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Algeria		w. (possibly)	Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Egypt			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Libya		n.	Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco		e.	Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Tunisia			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Armenia			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Azerbaijan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Georgia			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China		n.	Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Korea			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kazakhstan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kyrgyzstan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Tajikistan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Turkmenistan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Uzbekistan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Mongolia	Mongolia			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Cyprus			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iraq			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Lebanon			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Syria			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Assam		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist. Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Haryana		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist. Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Himachal Pradesh		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist. Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Jammu and Kashmir		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist. Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Punjab		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist. Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Sikkim		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist. Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Uttar Pradesh		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist. Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Nepal			Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist. Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan		n.	Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Belarus			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Estonia			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Latvia			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Lithuania			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Moldova			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation-European part	European part		Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine		incl. Krym	Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Austria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Belgium			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Czech Republic			Small, E. 2011. Alfalfa and relatives: evolution and classification of Medicago NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Canada. Note: Medicago sativa subsp. falcata includes diploid (2n=16) and tetraploid (2n=32) populations; some populations are drought resistant
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Germany			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Hungary			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Netherlands			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Poland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Slovakia			Small, E. 2011. Alfalfa and relatives: evolution and classification of Medicago NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Canada. Note: Medicago sativa subsp. falcata includes diploid (2n=16) and tetraploid (2n=32) populations; some populations are drought resistant
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Switzerland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Denmark			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Ireland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Norway			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Sweden			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Greece			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	North Macedonia			Small, E. 2011. Alfalfa and relatives: evolution and classification of Medicago NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Canada. Note: Medicago sativa subsp. falcata includes diploid (2n=16) and tetraploid (2n=32) populations; some populations are drought resistant
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Romania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Slovenia			Small, E. 2011. Alfalfa and relatives: evolution and classification of Medicago NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Canada. Note: Medicago sativa subsp. falcata includes diploid (2n=16) and tetraploid (2n=32) populations; some populations are drought resistant
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Portugal			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Russian Far East	Russian Federation-Far East	Far East		Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia	Eastern Siberia		Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Western Siberia	Western Siberia		Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11. Note: = Medicago falcata L
4	Naturalized	Northern America		Canada			Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
4	Naturalized	Northern America		United States			Isely, D. 1998. Native and naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the United States (exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii)
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina		s.	Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares. Note: = Medicago falcata L

Native
Africa

NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria (w. (possibly)), Egypt, Libya (n.), Morocco (e.), Tunisia

Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
CAUCASUS: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
MONGOLIA: Mongolia
CHINA: China (n.)
EASTERN ASIA: Korea

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India [Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh], Nepal, Pakistan (n.)

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Sweden
MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia
EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part], Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine (incl. Krym)
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France, Portugal

Naturalized
Africa

SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa

Asia-Temperate

SIBERIA: Russian Federation-Western Siberia [Western Siberia], Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia [Eastern Siberia]
RUSSIAN FAR EAST: Russian Federation-Far East [Far East]

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia

Northern America

REGION: Canada, United States

Southern America

SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina (s.)

Reference(s)

Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11. Note: = Medicago falcata L
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares. Note: = Medicago falcata L
Isely, D. 1998. Native and naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the United States (exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii)
Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist. Note: = Medicago falcata L
Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
Small, E. 2011. Alfalfa and relatives: evolution and classification of Medicago NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Canada. Note: Medicago sativa subsp. falcata includes diploid (2n=16) and tetraploid (2n=32) populations; some populations are drought resistant
Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia Note: = Medicago falcata L

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	forage	grazing	Duke, J. A. 1981. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance Note: = Medicago falcata L

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=104918. Accessed 15 April 2026.