Medicago

<i>Medicago</i>

Medicago

Genus of flowering plants in the bean family Fabaceae

This article is about the plant genus. For the biotech company, see Medicago Inc. For other uses, see Medicago (disambiguation).

Quick Facts Medicago, Scientific classification ...
Anatomical diagram of Medicago flowers.

Medicago is a genus of flowering plants, commonly known as medick or burclover, in the legume family (Fabaceae). It contains at least 87 species and is distributed mainly around the Mediterranean Basin,[2][3] and extending across temperate Eurasia and sub-Saharan Africa.[1] The best-known member of the genus is alfalfa (M. sativa), an important forage crop,[4] and the genus name is based on the Latin name for that plant, medica, from Greek: μηδική (πόα) Median (grass).[5] Most members of the genus are low, creeping herbs, resembling clover, but with burs (hence the common name). However, alfalfa grows to a height of 1 meter, and tree medick (M. arborea) is a shrub. Members of the genus are known to produce bioactive compounds such as medicarpin (a flavonoid) and medicagenic acid (a triterpenoid saponin).[3] Chromosome numbers in Medicago range from 2n = 14 to 48.[6]

The species Medicago truncatula is a model legume[7] due to its relatively small stature, small genome (450–500 Mbp), short generation time (about 3 months), and ability to reproduce both by outcrossing and selfing.

Comprehensive descriptions of the genus are Lesinš and Lesinš 1979[8] and Small and Jomphe 1989.[9] Major collections are SARDI (Australia),[10] USDA-GRIN (United States),[11] ICARDA (Syria),[12] and INRA (France).[13]

Evolution

Medicago diverged from Glycine (soybean) about 53–55 million years ago (in the early Eocene),[14] from Lotus (deervetch) 49–51 million years ago (also in the Eocene),[14] and from Trigonella 10–22 million years ago (in the Miocene).[15]

Ecological interactions with other organisms

Symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing rhizobia

Béna et al. (2005) constructed a molecular phylogeny of 23 Sinorhizobium strains and tested the symbiotic ability of six strains with 35 Medicago species.[16] Comparison of these phylogenies indicates many transitions in the compatibility of the association over evolutionary time. Furthermore, they propose that the geographical distribution of strains limits the distribution of particular Medicago species.

Agricultural uses

Other than alfalfa, several of the creeping members of the family (such as Medicago lupulina and Medicago truncatula) have been used as forage crops.[citation needed]

Insect herbivores

Medicago species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the common swift, flame, latticed heath, lime-speck pug, nutmeg, setaceous Hebrew character, and turnip moths and case-bearers of the genus Coleophora, including C. frischella (recorded on M. sativa) and C. fuscociliella (feeds exclusively on Medicago spp.).[citation needed]

Species

This list is compiled from:[9][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]

Section Buceras

Subsection Deflexae

  • Medicago retrorsa (Boiss.) E. Small

Subsection Erectae

  • Medicago arenicola (Huber-Mor.) E. Small
  • Medicago astroites (Fisch. & Mey.) Trautv.
  • Medicago carica (Huber-Mor.) E. Small
  • Medicago crassipes (Boiss.) E. Small
  • Medicago fischeriana (Ser.) Trautv.
  • Medicago halophila (Boiss.) E. Small
  • Medicago heldreichii (Boiss.) E. Small
  • Medicago medicaginoides (Retz.) E. Small
  • Medicago monantha (C. A. Meyer) Trautv.
  • Medicago orthoceras (Kar. & Kir.) Trautv.
  • Medicago pamphylica (Huber-Mor. & Sirjaev) E. Small
  • Medicago persica (Boiss.) E. Small
  • Medicago phrygia (Boiss. & Bal.) E. Small
  • Medicago polyceratia (L.) Trautv.
  • Medicago rigida (Boiss. & Bal.) E. Small

Subsection Isthmocarpae

  • Medicago rhytidiocarpa (Boiss. & Bal.) E. Small
  • Medicago isthmocarpa (Boiss. & Bal.) E. Small

Subsection Reflexae

Section Carstiensae

Section Dendrotelis

Section Geocarpa

  • Medicago hypogaea E. Small

Section Heynianae

  • Medicago heyniana Greuter

Section Hymenocarpos

Section Lunatae

  • Medicago biflora (Griseb.) E. Small
  • Medicago brachycarpa M. Bieb.
  • Medicago huberi E. Small
  • Medicago rostrata (Boiss. & Bal.) E. Small

Section Lupularia

Section Medicago

  • Medicago cancellata M. Bieb.
  • Medicago daghestanica Rupr.
  • Medicago hybrida (Pourr.) Trautv.
  • Medicago marina L.
  • Medicago papillosa Boiss.
    • M. p. macrocarpa
    • M. p. papillosa
  • Medicago pironae Vis.
  • Medicago prostrata Jacq.
    • M. p. prostrata
    • M. p. pseudorupestris
  • Medicago rhodopea Velen.
  • Medicago rupestris M. Bieb
  • Medicago sativa L. (alfalfa)
    • M. s. caerulea
    • M. s. falcata (Medicago falcata)
      • M. s. f. var. falcata
      • M. s. f. var. viscosa
    • M. s. glomerata
    • M. s. sativa
  • Medicago saxatilis M. Bieb
  • Medicago suffruticosa Ramond ex DC.
    • M. s. leiocarpa
    • M. s. suffruticosa

Section Orbiculares

Section Platycarpae

  • Medicago archiducis-nicolai Sirjaev
  • Medicago cretacea M. Bieb.
  • Medicago edgeworthii Sirjaev
  • Medicago ovalis (Boiss.) Sirjaev
  • Medicago playtcarpa (L.) Trautv.
  • Medicago plicata (Boiss.) Sirjaev
  • Medicago popovii (E. Kor.) Sirjaev
  • Medicago ruthenica (L.) Ledebour

Subsection Rotatae

Section Spirocarpos

Subsection Intertextae

Subsection Leptospireae

Subsection Pachyspireae

Species names with uncertain taxonomic status

The status of the following species is unresolved:[9]

  • Medicago agropyretorum Vassilcz.
  • Medicago alatavica Vassilcz.
  • Medicago caucasica Vassilcz.
  • Medicago cyrenaea Maire & Weiller
  • Medicago difalcata Sinskaya
  • Medicago grossheimii Vassilcz.
  • Medicago gunibica Vassilcz.
  • Medicago hemicoerulea Sinskaya
  • Medicago karatschaica (A. Heller) A. Heller
  • Medicago komarovii Vassilcz.
  • Medicago meyeri Gruner
  • Medicago polychroa Grossh.
  • Medicago schischkinii Sumnev.
  • Medicago talyschensis Latsch.
  • Medicago transoxana Vassilcz.
  • Medicago tunetana (Murb.) A.W. Hill
  • Medicago vardanis' Vassilcz.
  • Medicago virescens Grossh.

Recent molecular phylogenic analyses of Medicago indicate that the sections and subsections defined by Small & Jomphe, as outlined above, are generally polyphyletic.[2][15][16][28][29][30][31][32] However, with minor revisions sections and subsections could be rendered monophyletic.[15][28][29][30][31][32]

Notes

  1. [N 1]
    Some sources treat Medicago citrina as a synonym of Medicago arborea.
  2. [N 2]
    The validity of Medicago sinskiae has been questioned by Small and Jomphe, 1988.[9]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Medicago.
Wikispecies has information related to Medicago.
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    Steele KP, Ickert-Bond SM, Zarre S, Wojciechowski MF (2010). "Phylogeny and character evolution in Medicago (Leguminosae): Evidence from analyses of plastid trnK/matK and nuclear GA3ox1 sequences". Am J Bot. 97 (7): 1142–1155. doi:10.3732/ajb.1000009. PMID 21616866.
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    Small E, Jomphe M (1989). "A Synopsis of the Genus Medicago (Leguminosae)". Can J Bot. 67 (11): 3260–94. doi:10.1139/b89-405.
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    Yoder JB, Briskine R, Mudge J, Farmer A, Paape T, Steele K, Weiblen GD, Bharti AK, Zhou P, May GD, Young ND, Tiffin P (2013). "Phylogenetic signal variation in the genomes of Medicago (Fabaceae)". Syst Biol. 62 (3): 424–38. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syt009. PMID 23417680.
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