# Spotted medick (*Medicago arabica*)

The Spotted Medick is a small plant with pretty leaves that have little spots. It grows close to the ground and is often found in fields and gardens, making it a fun plant to discover!

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Habitat:** Grasslands

![Spotted medick](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Medicago_arabica-001.jpg&width=800)

Photo: User:Amada44, CC BY-SA 3.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Medicago_arabica-001.jpg)

## Appearance

The Spotted medick is a low-growing plant with small, bright yellow flowers. Its distinctive feature is the dark reddish-purple spot found in the center of each of its three clover-like leaves, making it easy to identify from other similar plants.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Magnoliopsida
- **Order:** Fabales
- **Family:** Fabaceae
- **Genus:** Medicago

## Interesting facts

- At night, its leaves fold up, as if the plant is going to sleep!
- Every leaf has a cool dark spot, like a secret tattoo from nature!
- It's a cousin to alfalfa, a super important animal food plant!
- Its tiny seeds are housed in pods that twist into amazing spiky spirals!

## Special abilities

- **Soil Power-Up:** Spotted medick can capture nitrogen from the air and add it to the soil, helping other plants grow stronger.
- **Sticky Seed Traveler:** Spotted medick has spiral seed pods covered in tiny hooks that stick to animals, helping its seeds travel far.

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 10-50 cm
- **Spread:** 20-60 cm
- **Flower Size:** 0.2-0.5 cm
- **Bloom Season:** Spring to early Summer
- **Edible:** Yes
- **Toxicity:** None
- **Lifecycle:** Annual
- **Pollination Method:** Insect

## Ecological connections

- **Symbiotic with:** Nitrogen-fixing bacteria (*Rhizobium leguminosarum*) — helps fix nitrogen in the soil
- **Eaten by:** Domestic sheep (*Ovis aries*) — graze on its leaves in pastures
- **Depends on:** European honey bee (*Apis mellifera*) — for pollination to produce seeds

## Traits

- [Spotted](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/spotted): Marked with spots or patches of a different color.
- [Flowering](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/flowering): Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.
- [Nitrogen Fixing](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/nitrogen-fixing): Describes organisms capable of converting atmospheric nitrogen into compounds usable by plants.
- [Spring Blooming](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/spring-blooming): Spring blooming plants produce their flowers during the spring season, often signifying the end of winter and the start of new growth.
- [Edible](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/edible): Edible plants are those parts of a plant that are considered safe for human consumption.
- [Grassland](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/grassland): Grassland habitats are terrestrial biomes dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants, supporting a variety of grazing animals.
- [Pollinator Magnet](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/pollinator-magnet): Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.
- [Keystone Species](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/keystone-species): Describes a species whose presence and role have a disproportionately large effect on its environment.

## Collections

- [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/plants)

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

Always check with an adult before touching or picking plants.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Spotted medick?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is Spotted medick?

10-50 cm

### How wide does Spotted medick spread?

20-60 cm

### How big are the flowers on Spotted medick?

0.2-0.5 cm

### When does Spotted medick bloom?

Spring to early Summer

### Is Spotted medick edible?

Yes

### Is Spotted medick toxic?

None

### What is Spotted medick's lifecycle?

Annual

## Where to spot

- [Vicksburg National Military Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/vicksburg-national-military-park) — Mississippi, US · Park

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [Spotted medick: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/spotted-medick)