Taxon: Medicago minima (L.) Bartal.

Summary

Genus:

Medicago

Section:

Spirocarpos

Subsection:

Leptospireae

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Faboideae

Tribe:

Trifolieae

Nomen number:

23621

Place of publication:

Cat. delle piante Siena 61. 1776 (Grufb. in L.,Fl. angl. 21. 1754, nom. inval.)

Comment:

Grufberg probably did not intend to make this combination

Verified:

02/21/1989 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

410 (383 active, 363 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

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

Basionym
Medicago polymorpha L. var. minima L.

Autonym(s)
Medicago minima (L.) Bartal. var. minima

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Medicago meyeri Gruner
Medicago minima (L.) Bartal. var. brachyodon Rchb.
Medicago minima (L.) Bartal. var. brevispina Benth.
Medicago sessilis Peyron ex Post

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

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource).
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya.
Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
Andrews, F. W. 1950-1956. The flowering plants of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.
Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
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.
Eriksson, O. et al. 1979. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 2.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) L.
Heyn, C. C. 1963. The annual species of Medicago. Scripta Hierosolymitana 12:60.
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Isely, D. 1998. Native and naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the United States (exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii)
Jahandiez, E. & R. Maire. 1931-1941. Catalogue des plantes du Maroc. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) Grufb.
Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR. Note: lists as Medicago minima Grufb.
Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
Lesins, K. A. & I. Lesins. 1979. Genus Medicago (Leguminosae). A taxogenetic study 190.
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
Meikle, R. D. 1977-1985. Flora of Cyprus.
Mouterde, P. 1966-. Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) Grufb.
Pignatti, S. 1982. Flora d'Italia.
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Pottier-Alapetite, G. 1979-1981. Flore de la Tunisie: Angiospermes-Dicotyledones.
Quézel, P. & S. Santa. 1962-1963. Nouvelle flore de l'Algerie. Note: lists as Medicago minima Grufb.
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Shinners, L. H. 1956. Authorship and nomenclature of bur clovers (Medicago) found wild in the United States. Rhodora 58:3. Note: concerning author of Medicago minima
Small, E. & M. Jomphe. 1989. A synopsis of the genus Medicago (Leguminosae). Canad. J. Bot. 67:3272.
Small, E. et al. 1981. The taxonomic value of floral characters in tribe Trigonelleae (Leguminosae), with special reference to Medicago. Canad. J. Bot. 59:1580.
Small, E. 1981. A numerical analysis of major groupings in Medicago employing traditionally used characters. Canad. J. Bot. 59:1555.
Smythies, B. E. 1984-1986. Flora of Spain and the Balearic Islands: checklist of vascular plants. Englera 3:1-882.
Täckholm, V. 1974. Students' flora of Egypt, ed. 2.
Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
Thulin, M. 1983. Leguminosae of Ethiopia. Opera Bot. 68:1-223.
Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.
Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	bur medick	1	Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
English	little bur-clover	1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
English	little medic	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	small medic	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	woolly trefoil	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Swedish	sandlusern	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Macaronesia	Portugal	Madeira Islands		Eriksson, O. et al. 1979. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 2.
1	Native	Africa	Macaronesia	Spain	Canarias		Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Djibouti			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Thulin, M. 1983. Leguminosae of Ethiopia. Opera Bot. 68:1-223.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Somalia		n.	Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan		n.e.	Andrews, F. W. 1950-1956. The flowering plants of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Yemen	Arkhabīl Suquţrá	s.	Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Algeria			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) L.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Egypt		n.	Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) L.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Libya			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) L.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) L.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Tunisia			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) L.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Armenia			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Azerbaijan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Georgia			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation	Dagestan		Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia	Ciscaucasia		Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kazakhstan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kyrgyzstan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Tajikistan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Turkmenistan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Uzbekistan			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Afghanistan		e.	Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Cyprus			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Egypt	Sinai		Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iraq			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Israel			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Lebanon			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Syria			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Jammu and Kashmir		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Punjab		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan		n.	Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) Grufb.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Moldova			Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation-European part	European part		Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine		incl. Krym	Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
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	Czechoslovakia			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
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	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	Sweden		s.	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. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) L.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) L.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Former Yugoslavia			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) L.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Greece		incl. Crete	Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) L.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy		incl. Sardinia, Sicily	Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) L.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Romania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France		incl. Corsica	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		incl. Baleares	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Russian Far East	Russian Federation-Far East	Far East		Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation	Kurganskaja oblast'		Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	New Zealand	New Zealand			Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
4	Naturalized	Northern America		North America			Isely, D. 1998. Native and naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the United States (exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii)
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		c.	Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile		c.	Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Uruguay			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.

Native
Africa

MACARONESIA: Spain [Canarias], Portugal [Madeira Islands]
NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Egypt (n.), Libya, Morocco, Tunisia
NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan (n.e.), Somalia (n.), Yemen [Arkhabīl Suquţrá (s.)]

Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan (e.), Cyprus, Egypt [Sinai], Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia], Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation [Dagestan]
MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India [Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab], Pakistan (n.)

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, United Kingdom, Sweden (s.)
MIDDLE EUROPE: Czechoslovakia, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland
EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part], Moldova, Ukraine (incl. Krym)
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece (incl. Crete), Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), Romania
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain (incl. Baleares), France (incl. Corsica), Portugal

Naturalized
Asia-Temperate

SIBERIA: Russian Federation [Kurganskaja oblast']
RUSSIAN FAR EAST: Russian Federation-Far East [Far East]

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia
NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand

Northern America

REGION: North America, United States

Southern America

SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina (c.), Chile (c.), Uruguay

Reference(s)

Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
Andrews, F. W. 1950-1956. The flowering plants of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.
Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Eriksson, O. et al. 1979. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 2.
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) L.
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
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.
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan. Note: lists as Medicago minima (L.) Grufb.
Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
Thulin, M. 1983. Leguminosae of Ethiopia. Opera Bot. 68:1-223.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
Yakovlev, G. P. et al. 1996. Legumes of Northern Eurasia

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	forage		Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.
Weed			Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds

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=23621. Accessed 15 April 2026.