The term ‘Medicago’ is derived from the native Greek or Roman name for alfalfa, which is
Medike, Medikein, or Medick. The genus Medicago contains about 70-110 species with a
center of diversity in the Mediterranean and West Asia, from Madeira and the Canary Islands
to China. The majority of the members of the genus Medicago are herbaceous, and the rest are
rarely sub-shrubs or small shrubs. The roots of the majority of the herbaceous species are
noduled, and they are resistant to biological nitrogen fixation. There are two types of
prominent leaves of the medics: compound leaves and trifoliolate leaves. The slashes between
leaflets of the compound leaf are of different lengths in a few species. Shoots of the following
year emerge from rosettes; rare species are with a short-lived stem.
