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| habit and habitat--Medicago polymorpha, like all species of Medicago in Texas, is an introduced Eurasian annual that frequents disturbed areas, particularly lawns (there are many individuals here, all grown together to form one big mass) | leaves--what kind of leaf complexity is present here? Also, notice the prominent pinnate venation in the leaflets. |
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| stem--M. polymorpha spend the first part of its life as a rosette of small leaves (as in the bottom right of this picture), and in late Winter sends out long trailing stems with much larger leaves | stipules (do you remember what stipules are?)--in M. polymorpha, the stipules are incised |
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| flower--notice the long pedicel. In M. polymorpha, the inflorescences contain only a few flowers. Other species of Medicago can have many more flowers per inflorescence. | stem showing fruits in early Spring |
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| fruits closeup--how do you think these are dispersed? Do you notice the recurved tips at the apex of each prickle? |
