9. Medicago truncatula Gaertn. (Medit., Macaronesia) – A rather rare and usually ephemeral alien (sometimes apparently persisting for some years in the vicinity of grain mills). First recorded (without further details) around Verviers before 1834, possibly as a wool alien. As a wool alien regularly recorded in the valley of river Vesdre but mostly in the 1950’s. In 1953 also found on a dump in Mechelen. In the past decades perhaps more often seen but then always as a grain alien. Recorded most years near grain mills in the port of Roeselare (Trakelweg) and Antwerpen (at the former Kattendijkdok – now demolished). At these locations sometimes temporarily persisting. Occasionally seen elsewhere, for instance near a grain mill in Willebroek in 2000 or on a demolition site of a former grain mill in Merksem, also in 2000.
Along with Medicago polymorpha, this is one of the commoner species of the genus near grain mills these days. Even in the vegetative state they are easily separated: Medicago truncatula has leaflets that are evenly and densely hairy whereas in M. polymorpha leaflets are subglabrous.
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Selected literature:
Lambinon J. (1957) Contribution à l’étude de la flore adventice de Belgique. I. adventices rares ou nouvelles pour la Belgique. Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belg. 89: 85-100.
Small E. & Brookes B. (1990) A numerical taxonomic analysis of the Medicago littoralis - M. truncatula complex. Canad. J. Bot. 68(8): 1667-1674.
Small E., Jomphe M. & Brookes B. (1991) Medicago truncatula f. laxicycla (Leguminosae), a new taxon with loose fruit coiling promoting rapid germination of the fruit-retained seeds. Pl. Syst. Evol. 174(1-2): 37-46.
Verloove F. & Vandenberghe C. (1993) Nieuwe en interessante graanadventieven voor de Noordvlaamse en Noordfranse flora, hoofdzakelijk in 1992. Dumortiera 53-54: 35-57.