Species

Medicago sativa

Etymology

Medicago: Derived indirectly from the Persian name Media (an Iranian kingdom in existence from late second millennium BC to the first millennium BC), whence alfalfa allegedly originates.

Common Name(s)

lucerne

Family

Fabaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

MEDSAT

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Flower Colours

Violet / Purple

Year Naturalised

1875

Origin

Mediterranean, W. Asia

This page last updated on 18 Jan 2010