Medicago lupulina L., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: tian lan mu xu

English: black medick, hop-clover, nonesuch, yellow trefoil

French: lupuline, minette dorée

Spanish: lupulina, mielga azafranada

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Annual or short-lived perennial herbs, pubescent; stems procumbent or ascending, 1-8 dm long.  Leaflets obovate, rhombic-cuneate or oblong-cuneate, 3-20 mm long, 2.5-12 mm wide, pubescent or glabrate, margins denticulate in upper part, apex rounded, more or less emarginate, stipules narrowly ovate to cordate, weakly toothed to subentire.  Flowers 10-50 in racemes, bracts white, filiform; corolla yellow, 2-3 mm long.  Pods black when ripe, 1.5-3 mm long, reniform, pubescent, transverse veins prominent, curved, anastomosing, forming an elongated network, prickles absent.  Seed 1" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 684).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in dry or occasionally moist, open, disturbed sites such as pastures and along roadsides and trails, 5-2,840 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 684).  In Tonga, "Uncommon in disturbed places" (Whistler, 1988; p. 26).  "In Chile this species grows in the following environmental conditions:  Medium altitude up to the timber line; low altitude, interior valleys; coastal mountains, 500-2000 m; coastal areas, 0-500 m. The plant grows in water or it has its roots within a permanent water course, this corresponds to marshes, bogs, water courses, lake and river shores; humid areas, with almost constant rainfall, short dry periods are possible (generally not longer than 1 month).  Fully exposed to the sun, level areas or slopes facing north"  (Chileflora).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Europe and temperate Asia, but naturalized in many subtropical and tropical areas (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 684).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Lord Howe Island	Lord Howe Island	introduced	Pickard, J. (1984) (p. 206)
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Lord Howe Island	Lord Howe Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 19) "Often planted in pastures as a forage plant". Vouchers cited: J. Pickard 2661 (NSW), G. Uhe 1330 (K), A.N. Rodd 1801 (NSW)
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 9) "Often planted in pastures as a forage plant". Voucher cited: W.R. Sykes NI 925 p.p. (CHR)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced	Skottsberg, Carl (1953) (p. 219)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 555)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 684) Voucher cited: Rock 3194 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. (1995) (p. 37) Voucher cited: T. Flynn & W. Flynn 4485 (BISH, MO, PTBG, US)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 684)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 684)
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
New Zealand (offshore islands) Kermadec Islands	Kermadec Islands	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 664) "Usually in dry or well drained situations, waste places, riverbeds, pasture and coastal areas".
New Zealand (offshore islands) Kermadec Islands	Raoul Island	introduced invasive	Sykes, W. R. (1977) (p. 125)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced invasive	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 274) In open grassy places, altitude about 1,500 m, introduced.
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island		Whistler, W. A. (1992) (p. 31) Vouchers cited: Ilolahia 70, Soakai 823
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Midway Atoll	Midway Atoll	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 684)
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Midway Atoll	Sand Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd (2008) (pp. B-10) Voucher cited: Starr & Starr 080601-17

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 231)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 231)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced invasive	Belov, Michail (2011)
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 231)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 231)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 185)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 664) "Usually in dry or well drained situations, waste places, riverbeds, pasture and coastal areas".
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island		Li-ying, Li/Ren, Wang/Waterhouse, D. F. (1997) (p. 173)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 231)

Additional information:
Photos and other information from Chileflora.

Additional online information about Medicago lupulina is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Medicago lupulina as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Medicago lupulina may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Belov, Michail. 2011. Chileflora (online resource).

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

Li-ying, Li/Ren, Wang/Waterhouse, D. F. 1997. The distribution and importance of arthropod pests and weeds of agriculture and forestry plantations in southern China. ACIAR, Canberra, Australia. 185 pp.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. 1995. Contributions to the flora of Hawai‘i. III. New additions, range extensions, and rediscoveries of flowering plants. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1994. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 41:19-58.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 2 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 530 pp.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Pickard, J. 1984. Exotic plants on Lord Howe Island: Distribution in space and time, 1853-1981. J. of Biogeography 11:181-208.

Skottsberg, Carl. 1953. The natural history of Juan Fernandez and Easter Island. Vol. II, Botany. Almqvist &l; Wiksells, Uppsala. 960 pp.

Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd. 2008. Botanical survey of Midway Atoll. Prepared for: United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 27 pp. plus appendices.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

Sykes, W. R. 1977. Kermadec Islands flora: an annotated checklist. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 219, Wellington. 216 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Whistler, W. A. 1988. Checklist of the weed flora of western Polynesia. Technical Paper No. 194, South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 69 pp.

Whistler, W. A. 1992. Flora of Tonga [unpublished checklist]. 107 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).