Relatives
Medicago cretacea M.Bieb. - Chalk Medick.
Taxonomic position.
Family Fabaceae Lindl., genus Medicago L.Synonyms.
Trigonella cretacea (M.Bieb.) Grossh., Melissitus cretaceus (M.Bieb.) Latsh., Crimea cretacea (M.Bieb.) Vass., Melilotoides cretacea (M.Bieb.) Sojak, Trigonella cretacea (M.Bieb.) Taliev.Morphology and biology.
Perennial plant. Semi-shrub, strongly branched, lignescent at the base stems. Stems 15-20 cm tall, numerous, nearly glabrous. Leaflets 5-8 mm long, rounded-oval, nearly coriaceous. Inflorescences racemes of 8-30 flowers. Corolla yellow, 6-8 mm long. Pod 1-seeded, flat, reniform-semilunar with a short, almost straight beak. Flowers in May, fruits in July. Autogamous plant. 2n=32.Distribution.
Crimea, Caucasus. Endemic.Ecology.
Chalk and lime deposits. Lower mountain zone.Economic value.
May be used for fixing eroded slopes.References:
Grossheim AA. 1945. Fenugreek - Trigonella L. In: Shishkin BK., ed. Flora URSS. V.11. P.102-129. (In Russian).Grossheim AA. 1952. Flora of Caucasus. 2nd ed. V.5. P.168-177. (In Russian).
Vassilchenko IT. 1987. Krymka - Crimea Vass. In: Fedorov AA., Tzvelev NN., eds. Flora of the European part of the USSR. V.6. P.187. (In Russian).
Lesins KA., Lesins I. 1979. Genus Medicago (Leguminosae). A taxogenetic study. 228 p.