Medicago sativa
Fabaceae
Alfalfa
Erect, hairless or with very fine hairs. Leaves with 1/2 in. long narrow lance-shaped leaflets. Flower spike with 8–25 purple, violet-green, or yellow flowers. Seedpods coiled 2–3 times, without prickles. Grows in disturbed soils, along roads mostly in agricultural areas, below 5000 ft. A common hay crop throughout our region. Subsp. falcata has yellow flowers, pods that do not twist.
- Rarity: Common
- Flowering Time: Early Spring, Mid Spring, Late Spring, Early Summer, Mid Summer, Late Summer
- Flower Form: Pea flowers, compound leaves
- Life Cycle: Annual, Perennial
- Height: 8–35 inches
- Habitat: Disturbed, Meadow
- Found In: Mt. Rainier NP, N Cascades NP, Olympic NP, Steens
- Native: No
