Gelbklee, Hopfenklee (MVP)

Gelbklee, Hopfenklee

Medicago lupulina

Summary ⁶

Medicago lupulina (black medic, sometimes spelled medick or meddick; also known as black hay, black nonsuch, blackweed, etc.) is a summer annual or perennial plant usually considered a weed. It has a tap root. Like other legumes, it has three leaflets; its center leaflet is on a separate petiole. As with other legumes, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, known as rhizobia, are found in nodules on the roots.

Description ⁷

Medicago lupulina is an annual or biennial plant, often long-lived thanks to adventitious buds on the roots. Mature plants measure from fifteen to sixty centimeters in height, with fine stems often lying flat at the beginning of growth and later erecting. The nodes bear three leaflets, carried by a long petiole and have oval leaflets, partially toothed towards the tip. The center leaflet is on a separate petiole.

Black medick is easily recognized by its small yellow flowers, often grouped in tight bunches, and typically measuring between two and four millimeters in diameter, although larger plants can produce flowers nearing the size of white clover. The fruit is a small, ovoid pod, between one and two millimeters in length, that does not open upon maturation, and bears a single seed. Pods grow in bunches of varying size, and are green until ripening, when they harden and turn black.

Black medick has a tap root, and like other legumes, the roots feature nodules containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

Similar plants ⁷

Black medick is sometimes considered a type of yellow clover, although the closely related true clovers belong to the genus trifolium. It is often confused with other plants that have three leaflets and small yellow flowers, such as hop trefoil, lesser hop trefoil, and yellow woodsorrel.

Uses ⁷

A common sight in dry or well-drained lawns, where it may be considered a weed, black medick is one of the flowers used to make honey. It is frequently found in natural pastures, and may be planted in order to create artificial meadows, especially on dry land. The presence of black medick in large concentrations in a lawn may indicate that the soil is poor in nitrogen. However, because black medick and other clovers fix nitrogen in the soil, this deficiency can improve over time due to the presence of these plants.

Black medick is sometimes used as a fodder plant. Its hardiness and ability to grow in poor soils, as well as its tendency to fix nitrogen in the soil, make black medick a good choice for pasturage, although its fodder value is limited.

Associations ⁸

Plant / associate
Apion filirostre is associated with Medicago lupulina
Other: minor host/prey

Foodplant / internal feeder
larva of Apion tenue feeds within stem of Medicago lupulina
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / feeds on
pycnidium of Ascochyta coelomycetous anamorph of Ascochyta imperfecta feeds on live stem of Medicago lupulina

Foodplant / sap sucker
Bathysolen nubilus sucks sap of Medicago lupulina
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / sap sucker
adult of Berytinus montivagus sucks sap of Medicago lupulina

Foodplant / sap sucker
nymph of Chlamydatus pullus sucks sap of Medicago lupulina
Remarks: Other: uncertain

Foodplant / sap sucker
nymph of Chlamydatus saltitans sucks sap of Medicago lupulina
Remarks: Other: uncertain

Foodplant / sap sucker
Coriomeris denticulatus sucks sap of Medicago lupulina

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / parasite
Erysiphe pisi var. pisi parasitises Medicago lupulina

Foodplant / open feeder
Hypera fuscocinerea grazes on leaf of Medicago lupulina
Remarks: Other: uncertain

Foodplant / open feeder
larva of Hypera postica grazes on leaf of Medicago lupulina
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / spot causer
conidioma of Sporonema coelomycetous anamorph of Leptotrochila medicaginis causes spots on live leaf of Medicago lupulina

Foodplant / parasite
sporangium of Peronospora officinalis parasitises live Medicago lupulina

Foodplant / parasite
sporangium of Peronospora romanica parasitises live Medicago lupulina
Other: sole host/prey

Foodplant / parasite
sporangium of Peronospora trifoliorum parasitises live Medicago lupulina

Foodplant / sap sucker
adult of Plagiognathus chrysanthemi sucks sap of Medicago lupulina
Remarks: season: late 6-9(10)

Foodplant / spot causer
apothecium of Pseudopeziza medicaginis causes spots on live leaf of Medicago lupulina
Remarks: season: 6-12

Foodplant / feeds on
larva of Sitona humeralis feeds on Medicago lupulina
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / parasite
mostly hypophyllous uredium of Uromyces pisi-sativi parasitises live leaf of Medicago lupulina
Other: minor host/prey

Sources and Credits

(c) Bas Kers, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/21933510@N07/3355824399
(c) Steve Chilton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/73779416@N00/291490345
(c) Kari Pihlaviita, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.flickr.com/photos/42267636@N08/5910247114/
(c) Matt Lavin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/plant_diversity/14564192125/
(c) Harry Rose, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/macleaygrassman/10589222415/
Adapted by Bea Steinemann from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicago_lupulina
(c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicago_lupulina
(c) BioImages, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/22910463

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