Data sources

Each value Trefle shows for Medicago sativa, with what every source says about it. When sources disagree, the strongest source is shown (how sources are ranked). Values imported before sources were recorded one by one are marked Source not recorded.

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Sourced18 Differs from sources3 Source not recorded10 Not on the record8 Sources: TRY Plant Trait Database, Earlier Trefle data

Field	Shown	What the sources say
Core
Author	L.	No source recorded	Source not recorded
Bibliography	Sp. Pl.: 778 (1753)	No source recorded	Source not recorded
Phylum	Tracheophyta	No source recorded	Source not recorded
Rank	species	No source recorded	Source not recorded
Status	accepted	No source recorded	Source not recorded
Year	1753	No source recorded	Source not recorded
Descriptive
Common name	Alfalfa	No source recorded	Source not recorded
Observations	Medit. to W. Siberia and Iran	No source recorded	Source not recorded
Morphology
Average height	65 cm	64.75 cm · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 70 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 25, 28, 66, 71, 86, 92, 164, 175, 178, 216, 236, 251, 310, 474, 507, 544, 655, 818, 853, 866, 882, 884, 897, 898, 925	Differs from sources
Biological type	hemicryptophyte	hemicryptophyte · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 268 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 25, 71, 164, 174, 175, 178, 500, 544, 655, 918, 925	Sourced
Flower color	blue	purple · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 2 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 92, 655, 882	Differs from sources
Flower conspicuous	true	true · Earlier Trefle data · Reported · 2026-10-19 value present before provenance tracking (2022 import), no source recorded	Sourced
Foliage color	green	green · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 5 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 92, 443, 879	Sourced
Foliage texture	fine	fine · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 3 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 71, 92, 443, 879	Sourced
Fruit color	brown	brown · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 1 observation · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 92	Sourced
Fruit conspicuous	false	No source recorded	Source not recorded
Fruit shape	legume	legume · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 3 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 882	Sourced
Growth form	Single Crown	Single Crown · Earlier Trefle data · Reported · 2026-10-19 value present before provenance tracking (2022 import), no source recorded	Sourced
Growth habit	Forb/herb	Forb/herb · Earlier Trefle data · Reported · 2026-10-19 value present before provenance tracking (2022 import), no source recorded	Sourced
Growth rate	Rapid	Rapid · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 1 observation · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 92	Sourced
Maximum height	empty	No source recorded 1 earlier or rejected value Rejected 55 cm · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 6 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 25, 28, 66, 71, 86, 92, 164, 175, 178, 216, 236, 251, 310, 474, 507, 544, 655, 818, 853, 866, 882, 884, 897, 898, 925 below the average height (65 cm) of the same record	Not on the record
Vegetable	false	No source recorded	Source not recorded
Phenology
Bloom months	jun	jun · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 2 observations · 2026-10-20 TRY 7.0 datasets 174 1 earlier or rejected value Superseded feb · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 2 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 174	Sourced
Duration	annual, perennial	annual, perennial · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 296 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 25, 28, 71, 86, 92, 110, 164, 175, 178, 236, 403, 432, 443, 460, 818, 879, 882, 918, 925	Sourced
Ecology
Atmospheric humidity	5 / 9 · medium air humidity	5 / 9 · medium air humidity · Earlier Trefle data · Reported · 2026-10-19 value present before provenance tracking (2022 import), no source recorded	Sourced
Ground humidity	empty	4 / 12 · moderately dry (meso-xerophilous) · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 1 observation · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 178	Not on the record
Light	8 / 9 · light	8 / 9 · light · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 2 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 178, 489	Sourced
Nitrogen fixation	High	High · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 18 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 67, 71, 92, 110, 444, 445, 822	Sourced
Ph maximum	pH 8.5	pH 8.5 · Earlier Trefle data · Reported · 2026-10-19 value present before provenance tracking (2022 import), no source recorded	Sourced
Ph minimum	pH 6	pH 6 · Earlier Trefle data · Reported · 2026-10-19 value present before provenance tracking (2022 import), no source recorded	Sourced
Soil nutriments	7 / 9 · rich (eutrophic)	5 / 9 · intermediate (mesotrophic) · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 3 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 178, 489	Differs from sources
Soil salinity	0 / 9 · absent from saline soils	0 / 9 · absent from saline soils · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 3 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 174, 178, 242	Sourced
Cultivation
Minimum root depth	153 cm	153 cm · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 12 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 92, 339, 432, 818, 898	Sourced
Other
Human usage type	—	fodder · TRY Plant Trait Database · Reported · 1 observation · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 92	Not on the record
Propagation method	—	seed · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 2 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 92, 174	Not on the record
Salt tolerance	—	Low · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 1 observation · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 92	Not on the record
Shade tolerance	—	None · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 5 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 92, 174	Not on the record
Soil ph indicator	—	7 · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 2 observations · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 178, 242	Not on the record
Temperature indicator	—	6 · TRY Plant Trait Database · Measured · 1 observation · 2026-10-09 TRY 7.0 datasets 242	Not on the record

Medicago sativa L., 1753 54% complete

Alfalfa

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Data sources