Medicago species - Medicks

Medicago lupulina Black Medick, leaves are downy with mucronate tips (Medic gives you jabs).

Flower heads are yellow 3 - 8 mm 20 - 40 flowers. Calyx is hairy. Seeds are coiled and black.

Trifolium dubium Lesser Trefoil is +/- hairless leaves with emarginate or truncate leaves. Hairs hanging down from below the midrib. Leaflets have distinct but short stalk with the terminal stalk longer than the lateral ones. Leaflets have 5 or 6 veins. Pedicels are very short / absent. Flower heads 5 - 7 mm across of < 25 flowers and each flower 3 - 4mm.

Medicago sativa Lucerne is procumbent to scrambling perennial to 90cm with hairy leaves and entire stipules or ±serrated. Flowers yellow, white, green, purple or blackish > 6mm. Fruits > 6mm. Leaves hairy

Ssp. sativa Lucerne Flowers mauve to violet 8-11mm in tight racemes. Fruit slight curled with 2 loops

It was formerly widely cultivated.