Your gateway to a wide range of natural resources information and associated maps

Victorian Resources Online

  1. Landform
  2. Land Use
  3. Soil
  4. Land and Water Management
    1. Catchment Management
    2. Invasive Plants
    3. Land Degradation
    4. Irrigated Agriculture
    5. Catchment Hydrology
    6. Salinity Indicator Plants
      1. Common Name
      2. Scientific Name
      3. Common Family Name
      4. Scientific Family Name
      5. Key to Families or Genera
      6. Salinity in the Loddon Murray Region
      7. Salinity in the Central and Northern Victorian Region
      8. Salinity in the Western Region
      9. Salinity in the Wimmera Region
      10. Salinity in the Mallee Region
      11. Salinity in the Gippsland Region
      12. Salinity in the Coastal Region
    7. Salinity Management
    8. Declared Water Supply Catchments

Little Medic

Back | Salinity Indicator Plants Home | Common name home | Scientific name home | Photo Gallery | Glossary



Little Medic photos

Scientific Name:Medicago minima
Population of Little Medic
Population of Little Medic
Photo: A J Brown

Status:
Native to Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa.

Plant Description:
Annual herb with a prostrate or ascending habit. Stems 20-60 cm long, moderately hairy. Leaves are trifoliate with obovate leaflets, 3-15 mm long and 2-10 mm wide, hairy on both surfaces, sometimes with dark flecks on the upper surface. Stipules (leaf-like structures at the base of the leaf and flower-stalks) 8 mm long and hairy.

Flowers yellow, 1-8. Pod with 3-5 coils, disc-shaped or ovoid, 3-6 mm diameter, sparsely hairy and with spines to 4 mm long.

Habitat:
Scattered across the north-western and northern regions of the State in pastures, disturbed ground, road edges, along water courses and on flats around swamps and lakes.
RegionSalinity ClassWaterlogging Class
Mallee, Loddon Murray, Central and Northern, WimmeraS0, *S1, *S2W0, W1, W2
*may be found on or fringing saline sites during the wetter parts of the year

Comments:
Similar in general appearance to other medics such as Burr Medic (Medicago polymorpha). Also similar to clovers (Trifolium spp.) but differentiated by having pods that exceed the calyx (the leaf-like outer whorl of the flower. Most medic species have spirally coiled pods; many with short spines.

Little Medic photos

Little Medic plants
Little Medic plants
Photo: A J Brown
Flowers of Little Medic
Flowers of Little Medic
Photo: A J Brown

Little Medic burr
Little Medic burr
Photo: A J Brown

Page top

For information about DJPR please contact:

Phone: 136 186

National Relay Service: 133 677 or relayservice.gov.au

Email: customer.service@ecodev.vic.gov.au

Online: Contact us

Copyright

Privacy

Disclaimer

Accessibility
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions - State Government of Victoria

© State of Victoria (Agriculture Victoria) 1996 - .

Creative Commons License

This work, Victorian Resources Online, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. You are free to re-use the work under that licence, on the condition that you credit the State of Victoria (Agriculture Victoria) as author, indicate if changes were made and comply with the other licence terms.


The licence does not apply to ‘branding’ or some ‘images or photographs’ that may be owned by third parties. We ask you to seek prior approval to use images using the VRO feedback form. Access to higher quality images can also be provided on request.


This page was last updated on .