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Photographer: Merel R. Black
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Family Fabaceae
Medicago sativa L.
alfalfa
Medicago: derived from Medike, or medick, the Greek name for alfalfa, which came to Greece from Medea
sativa: sown
Hazardous 
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| Status: | Introduced - naturalized |
| Plant: | erect, perennial, 1'-3' tall forb; slender stems; deep roots |
| Flower: | purple to cream, 5-parted, 1/4"-1/2" long, calyx not 2-lipped; inflorescence a stalked, rounded to cylindrical, head-like cluster (raceme) of short-stalked flowers; blooms June-Sept. |
| Fruit: | finely-hairy pod |
| Leaf: | stalked, 3-parted, long and narrow |
| Habitat: | disturbed sites |
| (Glossary) |
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