Medicago arabica
Ecology
A winter-annual of grassy places, often on light, sandy and gravelly soils, particularly near the coast. It grows as a weed in lawns and frequently occurred as a casual in fields manured with wool shoddy. It is able to persist as small plants in mown lawns, and can grow as very robust plants in nutrient-rich habitats. Lowland.
Status
Trends
There has been a marked increase in M. arabica since the 1962 Atlas, particularly in S. England and the Midlands. Recent county floras suggest it has become more common in inland areas, for reasons that are not clear. For example, it was very rare in Oxfordshire before 1930, but is now widespread.
World Distribution
Submediterranean-Subatlantic element; widely naturalised outside its native range.
Broad Habitats
Light (Ellenberg): 7
Moisture (Ellenberg): 5
Reaction (Ellenberg): 6
Nitrogen (Ellenberg): 5
Salt Tolerance (Ellenberg): 0
January Mean Temperature (Celsius): 4.2
July Mean Temperature (Celsius): 16.2
Annual Precipitation (mm): 781
Height (cm): 60
Perennation - primary
Life Form - primary
Woodiness
Clonality - primary
Count of 10km squares in Great Britain: 744
Count of 10km squares in Ireland: 0
Count of 10km squares in the Channel Isles: 14
Atlas Change Index: 0.69
Weighted Changed Factor: 27
Weighted Change Factor Confidence (90%)
JNCC Designations
PLANTATT - Attributes of British and Irish plants. (.zip 1455KB) This dataset was compiled and published in 2004, and last updated in November 2008. Download includes an Excel spreadsheet of the attributes, and a PDF explaining the background and nomenclature. Note that the PDF version is the booklet as published, whereas the Excel spreadsheet incorporates subsequent corrections. A hardcopy can be purchased from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
Atlas text references
Atlas (103c)
Flora dels Països Catalans, I. Introducció. Licopodiàcies-Capparàcies,
, Barcelona, (1984)
The Flora of Oxfordshire,
, Newbury, (1998)