Relatives
Trigonella foenum-graecum L. - Common Fenugreek.
Taxonomic position.
Family Fabaceae Lindl., genus Trigonella L.Synonyms.
Trigonella gladiata Ldb.Morphology and biology.
Annual herbaceous plant. Stems 10-50 cm tall, straight, less often ascending, rather coarse, branched. Stipules ovate, sharpened, entire. Leaflets ovate to oblong-lanceolate. Flowers sessile, by 1-2 in leaf axils. Corolla whitish-yellowish, slightly violet toward base. Standard oblong, emarginate. Pod linear, straight or slightly bent, beakless or gradually narrowed into straight beak, 6-10 cm long and 4-5 cm wide, 10-20 seeded, with veins stretching lengthwise. Seeds large, oblong, up to 5 mm long. Flowers and fruits in June. Autogamous plant. 2n=16, 32.Distribution.
Cultivated in the Caucasus (southern Transcaucasia) and Central Asia; escapes wild.Ecology.
In forest glades and fringes, on exposed slopes, in meadows and fields, at roadsides, near houses.Economic value.
Used as forage plant in mountain areas as an admixture to other herbs. More drought-resistant than medick.References:
Grossheim AA. 1945. Fenugreek - Trigonella L. In: Shishkin BK., ed. 1945. Flora URSS. V.11. P.102-129. (In Russian).Grossheim AA. 1952. Flora of Caucasus. 2nd ed. V.5. P.168-177. (In Russian).
Sinskaya EN. 1950. Fenugreek. In: Cultivated flora of the USSR. V.13, pt 1. Moscow; Leningrad. P.501-516. (In Russian).
Vassilchenko IT. 1987. Fenugreek - Trigonella L. In: Fedorov AA., Tzvelev NN., eds. Flora of the European part of the USSR. V.6. P.182-186. (In Russian).