Relatives

Trigonella gladiata Stev. ex Bieb. - Sword-shaped trigonella.

Taxonomic position.

Family Leguminosae Endl., genus Trigonella L.

Biology and morphology.

Annual herb. Stems ascending or erect, slightly branching, 5-30 cm high, pubescent. Stipules small. Leaves are obovate or lance-shaped, 5-12 mm long, 3-6 mm wide, saw-toothed in upper part. Florets are solitary or in pairs developing in the axils of leaves on very short flower stalks. Calyx pubescent, teeth are equal to tube. Corolla 8-10 mm long, pale yellow, standard tinged with violet. Pod erect or slightly curved, compressed, 2-3 cm long, 4-5 mm wide, 5-7 seeded. Seeds ovate, 3-5 mm long. Blossoms in April-May, seeds ripening in May-June. Self-pollinated. 2n=16.

Distribution.

Crimea, Caucasus.

Ecology.

Prefer loam soils, which are well-drained. Among bushes, along roads, on dry slopes, stony locations up to mid-mountain level (1400-1500 m).

Utilization and economic value.

Forage plant of great interest as suspected ancestor of cultivated trigonella (T. foenum-graecum L.). Attractive for grazing but characterized by low forage productivity. Possesses high drought-resistance, grows on poor soils. Useful for utilization in breeding programs in crosses with cultivated Trigonella species.

Reference citations:

Brezhnev D.D., Korovina O.N. 1980. Wild relatives of the cultivated plants of flora of the USSR. Leningrad: Kolos. 376 pp. (In Russian)
Galushko, A.I. 1980. Flora of Northern Caucasus. A field guide. Rostov-na-Donu. V. 2: 350. (In Russian)
Grossheim, A.A. 1952. Flora of the Caucasus. Genus Trigonella. Moscow-Leningrad: AN USSR. V.5: 168-177. (In Russian)
Kolakovskiy, A.L. 1958. Flora of Abhasiya. Tbilisi. V. 3: 292. (In Russian)
Phyodorov, A.A., ed. 1987. Flora of the European part of the USSR. V. 6: 254. (In Russian)
Schischkin, V.K. & E.G. Bobrov, ed. 1945. Flora of the USSR. Moscow-Leningrad: AN USSR. V. 11: 129-176. (In Russian)
Shishkin B.K., ed. 1948. Flora of the USSR. Genus Trigonella. Moscow-Leningrad: AN USSR. V. 13: 102-129. (In Russian)

© Dzyubenko N. I., Dzyubenko E. A.

 

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