Medicago lupulina

new search

Habitus and growth type

  • Height [m]: 0.1–0.6
    ?
  • Growth form: annual herb
    ?
  • Life form: therophyte (hemicryptophyte)
    ?
  • Life strategy: CSR – competitor/stress-tolerator/ruderal
    ?
  • Life strategy (Pierce method based on leaf traits): R/CSR
    ?
  • Life strategy (Pierce method, C-score): 22.4 %
    ?
  • Life strategy (Pierce method, S-score): 19.9 %
    ?
  • Life strategy (Pierce method, R-score): 57.7 %
    ?

Leaf

  • Leaf presence and metamorphosis: leaves present, not modified
    ?
  • Leaf arrangement (phyllotaxis): alternate
    ?
  • Leaf shape: compound – ternate
    ?
  • Stipules: present
    ?
  • Petiole: present
    ?
  • Leaf life span: evergreen
    ?
  • Leaf anatomy: mesomorphic
    ?

Flower

  • Flowering period [month]: May–October
    ?
  • Flowering phase: 5 Sorbus aucuparia-Galium odoratum (end of mid-spring)
    ?
  • Flower colour: yellow
    ?
  • Flower symmetry: zygomorphic
    ?
  • Perianth type: calyx and corolla
    ?
  • Perianth fusion: free
    ?
  • Calyx fusion: synsepalous
    ?
  • Inflorescence type: racemus
    ?
  • Dicliny: synoecious
    ?
  • Generative reproduction type: autogamy, mixed mating
    ?
  • Pollination syndrome: insect-pollination, selfing
    ?
  • Pollinator spectrum: solitary bees, hoverflies, butterflies (honeybee, bumblebees, other Hymenoptera, flies s. l., other Diptera, beetles, nitidulids, unknown)
    ?

Fruit, seed and dispersal

  • Fruit type: dry fruit – legume
    ?
  • Fruit colour: brown, grey, black
    ?
  • Reproduction type: by seed/spores and vegetatively
    ?
  • Dispersal unit (diaspore): fruit, infrutescence or its part
    ?
  • Dispersal strategy: Allium (mainly autochory)
    ?
  • Myrmecochory: non-myrmecochorous (b)
    ?

Belowground organs and clonality

  • Shoot metamorphosis: pleiocorm
    ?
  • Root metamorphosis: primary storage root
    ?
  • Storage organ: pleiocorm, primary storage root
    ?
  • Shoot life span (cyclicity): monocyclic shoots prevailing
    ?
  • Primary root: present
    ?
  • Position of root buds: primary root
    ?
  • Role of root buds in life-history of a plant: additive
    ?
  • Bud bank

    ?
  • Number of buds per shoot at the soil surface (root buds excluded): 5
  • Number of buds per shoot at a depth of 0–10 cm (root buds excluded): 4
  • Number of buds per shoot at a depth greater than 10 cm (root buds excluded): 0
  • Size of the belowground bud bank (root buds excluded): 9
  • Depth of the belowground bud bank (root buds exluded) [cm]: 3
  • Number of buds per shoot at the soil surface (root buds included): 5
  • Number of buds per shoot at a depth of 0–10 cm (root buds included): 9
  • Number of buds per shoot at a depth greater than 10 cm (root buds included): 0
  • Size of the belowground bud bank (root buds included): 14
  • Depth of the belowground bud bank (root buds included) [cm]: 4

Trophic mode

  • Parasitism and mycoheterotrophy: autotrophic
    ?
  • Carnivory: non-carnivorous
    ?
  • Symbiotic nitrogen fixation: symbiosis with rhizobia
    ?

Karyology

  • Chromosome number (2n): 16 (32)
    ?
  • Ploidy level (x): 2 (4)
    ?
  • 2C genome size [Mbp]: 1165.65
    ?
  • 1Cx monoploid genome size [Mbp]: 582.83
    ?
  • Genomic GC content: 37.3 %
    ?

Taxon origin

  • Origin in the Czech Republic: native
    ?

Ecological indicator values

  • Ellenberg-type indicator values

  • Light indicator value: 7 – half-light plant, mostly occurring at full light, but also in the shade up to about 30% of diffuse radiation incident in an open area
    ?
  • Temperature indicator value: 5 – moderate heat indicator, occurring from lowland to montane belt, mainly in submontane-temperate areas
    ?
  • Moisture indicator value: 4 – transition between values 3 and 5
    ?
  • Reaction indicator value: 7 – indicator of slightly acidic to slightly basic conditions, never occurring in very acidic conditions
    ?
  • Nutrient indicator value: 4x – transition between values 3 and 5 (generalist)
    ?
  • Salinity indicator value: 1 – salt tolerant, mostly on low-salt to salt-free soils, but occasionally on slightly salty soils
    ?
  • Indicator values for disturbance

    ?
  • Whole-community disturbance frequency indicator value: -0.21
  • Herb layer disturbance frequency indicator value: -0.09
  • Whole-community disturbance severity indicator value: 0.65
  • Herb layer disturbance severity indicator value: 0.66
  • Whole-community structure based disturbance indicator value: 0.62
  • Herb layer structure-based disturbance indicator value: 0.71

Habitat and sociology

  • Occurrence in habitats

    ?
  • 1 Vegetation of cliffs, screes and walls

  • 1C Walls: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 4 Wetland and riverine herbaceous vegetation

  • 4H Vegetation of low annual hygrophilous herbs: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 4I Vegetation of nitrophilous annual hygrophilous herbs: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 4J River gravel banks: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 4L Nitrophilous herbaceous fringes of lowland rivers: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 5 Vegetation of springs and mires

  • 5D Calcareous fens: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 6 Meadows and mesic pastures

  • 6A Mesic Arrhenatherum meadows: 2 – optimum
  • 6B Montane mesic meadows: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 6C Pastures and park grasslands: 2 – optimum
  • 6D Alluvial meadows of lowland rivers: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 6E Wet Cirsium meadows: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 6F Intermittently wet Molinia meadows: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 6G Vegetation of wet disturbed soils: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 7 Acidophilous grasslands

  • 7B Submontane Nardus grasslands: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 8 Dry grasslands

  • 8A Hercynian dry grasslands on rock outcrops: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 8B Submediterranean dry grasslands on rock outcrops: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 8C Narrow-leaved sub-continental steppes: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 8D Broad-leaved dry grasslands: 2 – optimum
  • 8E Acidophilous dry grasslands: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 8F Thermophilous forest fringe vegetation: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 9 Sand grasslands and rock-outcrop vegetation

  • 9B Open vegetation of acidic sands: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 9C Festuca grasslands on acidic sands: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 9D Pannonian sand steppes: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 9E Acidophilous vegetation of spring therophytes and succulents: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 9F Basiphilous vegetation of spring therophytes and succulents: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 10 Saline vegetation

  • 10I Inland saline meadows: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 11 Heathlands and scrub

  • 11L Tall mesic and xeric shrub: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 11N Low xeric scrub: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 11R Scrub and pioneer woodland of forests clearings: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 12 Forests

  • 12H Peri-Alpidic basiphilous thermophilous oak forests: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 12I Sub-continental thermophilous oak forests: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 12O Peri-Alpidic pine forests: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 12T Robinia pseudacacia plantations: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 12U Plantations of broad-leaved non-native trees: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 12W Pine and larch plantations: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 13 Anthropogenic vegetation

  • 13A Annual vegetation of ruderal habitats: 1 – rare occurrence
  • 13B Annual vegetation of arable land: 2 – optimum
  • 13C Annual vegetation of trampled habitats: 2 – optimum
  • 13D Perennial thermophilous ruderal vegetation: 2 – optimum
  • 13E Perennial nitrophilous herbaceous vegetation of mesic sites: 1 – rare occurrence
  • Affinity to the forest environment

    ?
  • Affinity to the forest environment in Thermophyticum: 0 – taxon that does not spontaneously occur in Czech forests
  • Affinity to the forest environment in Mesophyticum and Oreophyticum: 0 – taxon that does not spontaneously occur in Czech forests
  • Diagnostic taxon

    ?
  • Constant taxon

    ?
  • Dominant taxon

    ?
  • Dominant taxon of associations: XBH03 Linario-Brometum tectorum
  • Ecological specialization indices

    ?
  • Ecological specialization index for all vegetation types: 4
  • Ecological specialization index for non-forest vegetation: 4
  • Ecological specialization index for forest vegetation: 4.2
  • Colonization ability

    ?
  • Index of colonization success (ICS): 8
  • Index of colonization potential (ICP): 8
  • Optimum successional age [years]: 13

Distribution and frequency

  • Floristic zone: northern temperate, southern temperate, submeridional, meridional
    ?
  • Floristic region: Europe, Asia
    ?
  • Distribution range extension along the continentality gradient: 9
    ?
  • Elevational belt in the Czech Republic: lowlands, colline belt, submontane belt, montane belt
    ?
  • Occurrence frequency in the basic grid mapping cells and quadrants of the basic grid mapping cells: 627, 1835
    ?
  • Commonness in vegetation plots from the Czech Republic

    ?
  • Occurrence frequency in vegetation plots: 3.6 %
  • Occurrence frequency in vegetation plots with a cover above 5%: 6.7 %
  • Occurrence frequency in vegetation plots with a cover above 25%: 0.6 %
  • Occurrence frequency in vegetation plots with a cover above 50%: 0.1 %
  • Mean percentage cover in vegetation plots: 3.1 %
  • Maximum percentage cover in vegetation plots: 88 %
  • Number of habitats with taxon occurrence in the Czech Republic

    ?
  • Number of narrow habitats in which the taxon occurs: 40
  • Number of narrow habitats in which the taxon has its optimum: 6
  • Number of broad habitats in which the taxon occurs: 11
  • Number of broad habitats in which the taxon has its optimum: 3

Threats and protection

  • Red List 2017 (national categories): taxon is not on the Red List
    ?
  • Red List 2017 (IUCN categories): LC(NA) – least concern (taxon is not on the Red List)
    ?
  • Legal protection: not protected by law
    ?
This web page uses for the attendance analysis cookies. By using this web you agree with this. More info.