AusTraits

Medicago polymorpha

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Fabaceae

Taxonomy: Medicago polymorpha L.

Synonyms: 21 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Medicago apiculata Willd. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago apiculata var. confinis Koch (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago confinis (Koch) J.M.Black (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago coronata Gaertn. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago denticulata Willd. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago denticulata var. brevispina Benth. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago denticulata var. vulgaris Benth. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago hispida Gaertn. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago hispida var. apiculata (Willd.) Urb. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago hispida var. confinis (Koch) Burnat (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago hispida var. denticulata (Willd.) Urb. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago hispida var. inermis Urb. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago hispida var. lappacea J.M.Black (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago hispida var. longispina Urb. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago lappacea Desr. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago nigra Krock. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago polymorpha L. subsp. polymorpha (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Medicago polymorpha L. var. polymorpha (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Medicago polymorpha var. brevispina (Benth.) Heyn (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago polymorpha var. vulgaris (Benth.) Shinners (taxonomic synonym)
  • Medicago reticulata Benth. (taxonomic synonym)

Distribution (APC): WA (naturalised), NT (naturalised), Qld (naturalised), NSW (naturalised), LHI (naturalised), NI (naturalised), ACT (naturalised), Vic (naturalised), Tas (naturalised)

Profiles: APC, Flora of Australia, ALA, iNaturalist, NSW Flora, NT eFlora, Vic Flora, Florabase, ATRP

Traits

Top source datasets: Cheal_2017 (5), Dwyer_2017 (3), Kubiak_2009 (3), Leishman_1992 (7), Mesaglio_2022 (1), Munroe_2019 (1), NHNSW_2014_2 (2), NHNSW_2022 (4), NHNSW_2023 (15), NSWFRD_2014 (2), RBGV_2022 (4), RBGV_2023 (20), SAH_2022 (3), SAH_2023 (15), Stephens_2021 (4), Tsakalos_2020 (17), WAH_2022_1 (3), WAH_2022_2 (4), WAH_2023_2 (2), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 43 traits from 118 records in 21 datasets.

Traits by category (click to expand). For categorical traits, the values are listed. For numerical traits, the mean and range are shown.

fire response
flower morphology
  • flower_colour (categorical): yellow_orange (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 6.5 mm (2-12 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • fruit_width (numerical): 6.33 mm (2.5-10 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • fruit_height (numerical): 6.33 mm (2.5-10 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • fruit_type (categorical): legume (2); legume_indehiscent (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): indehiscent (1) [sources: RBGV_2023]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 103 mm2 (103-103 mm2) [sources: Leishman_1992]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 16.67 mm (5-30 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 13 mm (3-22 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 28.59 g/m2 (28.59-28.59 g/m2) [sources: Dwyer_2017]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): obcordate (2); obovate (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): entire (2); toothed (2); toothed_dentate (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): compound (4) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): flat (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_glaucousness (categorical): not_glaucous (2) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_hairs_adult_leaves (categorical): glabrous (1); hairy (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (2) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; RBGV_2023]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (4) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (2) [sources: Munroe_2019; Tsakalos_2020]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): herb (8) [sources: Leishman_1992; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • life_history (categorical): annual (7) [sources: Leishman_1992; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (7) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Tsakalos_2020; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): decumbent (3); erect (1); prostrate (3) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; Tsakalos_2020; WAH_2022_2]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • root_structure (categorical): arbuscular_mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnnyyyn (1); nnnnnnnyyyyn (1); nnnnnnyyyyyy (1); nyyynynyynnn (1); nyyyyyyyyynn (1); yynnynyyyyyn (1) [sources: Mesaglio_2022; Stephens_2021; Tsakalos_2020]
  • seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): long_persistent (1) [sources: Cheal_2017]
  • storage_organ (categorical): no_storage_organ (1) [sources: Leishman_1992]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 2.93 mg (2.48-3.38 mg) [sources: Dwyer_2017; Leishman_1992]
  • seed_length (numerical): 3.12 mm (2-4 mm) [sources: RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • seed_shape (categorical): reniform (2) [sources: RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
whole plant morphology

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
RBGV_20231420VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
Tsakalos_20201617J. L. Tsakalos, M. Renton, F. Riviera, E. J. Veneklaas, M. P. Dobrowolski, and L. Mucina. “Trait-based formal definition of plant functional types and functional communities in the multi-species and multi-traits context”. Ecological Complexity 40 (2019), p. 100787. doi: 10.1016/j.ecocom.2019.100787.
NHNSW_20231015N. H. of New South Wales. The Plant Information Network System of The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Version 2.0.. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
SAH_20231015S. H. of South Australia. eFlora of SA, Electronic Flora of South Australia. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/.
Leishman_199277M. R. Leishman and M. Westoby. “Classifying plants into groups on the basis of associations of individual traits-Evidence from Australian semi-arid woodlands”. Journal of Ecology 80 (1992), pp. 417-424. doi: 10.2307/2260687.
Cheal_201755D. Cheal. Growth stages and tolerable fire intervals for Victoria's native vegetation data sets. Fire and adaptive management, report no. 84. Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment Melbourne, 2010.
NHNSW_202244N. H. of New South Wales. The Plant Information Network System of The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Version 2.0.. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
RBGV_202244VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
Stephens_202114R. Stephens. “Unpublished data: Flowering time data from TERN plots, Macquarie University.”. 2021.
WAH_2022_244Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Dwyer_201733J. M. Dwyer and D. C. Laughlin. “Constraints on trait combinations explain climatic drivers of biodiversity: The importance of trait covariance in community assembly”. Ecology Letters 20.7 (2017), pp. 872-882. doi: 10.1111/ele.12781.
Kubiak_200933P. J. Kubiak. “Fire responses of bushland plants after the January 1994 wildfires in northern Sydney”. Cunninghamia 11.1 (2009), pp. 131-165.
SAH_202233S. H. of South Australia. eFlora of SA, Electronic Flora of South Australia. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/.
WAH_2022_133Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
NHNSW_2014_222Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
NSWFRD_201422B. Kenny, C. Orscheg, E. Tasker, M. A. Gill, and R. Bradstock. NSW Flora Fire Response Database, v2.1. database. NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment, 2014.
WAH_2023_212Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Wenk_202222E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
Mesaglio_202211T. Mesaglio. “Unpublished data: Comprehensive biodiversity survey of Wategora Reserve and Everley Park along Duck River, western Sydney”. 2022. doi: 10.32942/X29886.
Munroe_201911S. E. M. Munroe, F. A. McInerney, J. Andrae, N. Welti, G. R. Guerin, E. Leitch, T. Hall, S. Szarvas, R. Atkins, S. Caddy-Retalic, and B. Sparrow. “The Photosynthetic Pathways of Plant Species Surveyed in Australia's National Terrestrial Monitoring Network”. Scientific Data 8 (2021), p. 97. doi: 10.1038/s41597-021-00877-z.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.