Index / Search / Medicago sativa
§1 Plant
Medicago sativa L.
vernacular alfalfa — species · Fabaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Duration
- Annual, Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Fabaceae Lindl.
- Genus
- Medicago
§2a
Native status, by region
- AK Alaska Introduced
- CAN Canada Introduced
- HI Hawaii Introduced
- L48 Lower 48 States Introduced
- PR Puerto Rico Introduced
- VI U.S. Virgin Islands Introduced
§2b
County-level range
· 444 counties across 23 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- High
- Shade
- High
- Moisture use
- High
- Fire
- High
- Salinity
- Medium
- Anaerobic
- None
- CaCO₃
- High
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -43 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 90 min.
- Precipitation
- 12–65 in/yr
- pH range
- 6–8.5
- Root depth
- 24 in min.
- Fertility need
- High
- Soil texture
- medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Single Crown
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Lifespan
- Long
- Mature height
- 2 ft
- Foliage texture
- Fine
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Moderate
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- Purple
- Fruit colour
- Brown
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- High
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Spring
- Seed abundance
- High
- Seed begins
- Summer
- Seed ends
- Summer
- Spread rate
- Slow
- Stratify
- No
- Seeds / lb
- 226,800
- Propagation
- seed
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- High
- Graze palatability
- High
- Palatable, human
- Yes
- Protein potential
- High
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 444 counties across 23 states/territories.
Alabama view state ↗ 1 I ▾
Alaska view state ↗ 4 I ▾
Arizona view state ↗ 8 I ▾
Arkansas view state ↗ 17 I ▾
Delaware view state ↗ 1 I ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 I ▾
Florida view state ↗ 7 I ▾
Georgia view state ↗ 7 I ▾
Kentucky view state ↗ 43 I ▾
- Anderson 21005
- Barren 21009
- Bath 21011
- Bell 21013
- Bracken 21023
- Breckinridge 21027
- Bullitt 21029
- Campbell 21037
- Edmonson 21061
- Estill 21065
- Fayette 21067
- Franklin 21073
- Fulton 21075
- Gallatin 21077
- Grant 21081
- Hardin 21093
- Henry 21103
- Hickman 21105
- Hopkins 21107
- Jackson 21109
- Jefferson 21111
- Jessamine 21113
- Kenton 21117
- Lee 21129
- Lewis 21135
- Lincoln 21137
- Madison 21151
- McCracken 21145
- McCreary 21147
- Meade 21163
- Montgomery 21173
- Muhlenberg 21177
- Ohio 21183
- Oldham 21185
- Owen 21187
- Pendleton 21191
- Pike 21195
- Pulaski 21199
- Rockcastle 21203
- Rowan 21205
- Russell 21207
- Scott 21209
- Spencer 21215
Louisiana view state ↗ 18 I ▾
Maine view state ↗ 12 I ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 14 I ▾
Mississippi view state ↗ 5 I ▾
Montana view state ↗ 33 I ▾
- Beaverhead 30001
- Big Horn 30003
- Blaine 30005
- Carbon 30009
- Cascade 30013
- Fergus 30027
- Flathead 30029
- Gallatin 30031
- Golden Valley 30037
- Jefferson 30043
- Judith Basin 30045
- Lake 30047
- Lewis and Clark 30049
- Lincoln 30053
- Madison 30057
- McCone 30055
- Meagher 30059
- Missoula 30063
- Park 30067
- Petroleum 30069
- Phillips 30071
- Powell 30077
- Prairie 30079
- Ravalli 30081
- Richland 30083
- Roosevelt 30085
- Sanders 30089
- Silver Bow 30093
- Sweet Grass 30097
- Teton 30099
- Toole 30101
- Valley 30105
- Wheatland 30107
New Hampshire view state ↗ 9 I ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 15 I ▾
New York view state ↗ 36 I ▾
- Albany 36001
- Allegany 36003
- Bronx 36005
- Cattaraugus 36009
- Cayuga 36011
- Chautauqua 36013
- Chenango 36017
- Delaware 36025
- Erie 36029
- Kings 36047
- Livingston 36051
- Madison 36053
- Monroe 36055
- Nassau 36059
- New York 36061
- Oneida 36065
- Onondaga 36067
- Ontario 36069
- Orange 36071
- Otsego 36077
- Putnam 36079
- Queens 36081
- Rensselaer 36083
- Richmond 36085
- Rockland 36087
- Saratoga 36091
- Schoharie 36095
- St. Lawrence 36089
- Suffolk 36103
- Tioga 36107
- Tompkins 36109
- Ulster 36111
- Warren 36113
- Washington 36115
- Wayne 36117
- Westchester 36119
North Carolina view state ↗ 35 I ▾
- Alexander 37003
- Alleghany 37005
- Ashe 37009
- Avery 37011
- Bertie 37015
- Burke 37023
- Carteret 37031
- Caswell 37033
- Catawba 37035
- Cherokee 37039
- Cleveland 37045
- Craven 37049
- Currituck 37053
- Davidson 37057
- Durham 37063
- Forsyth 37067
- Guilford 37081
- Haywood 37087
- Iredell 37097
- Lincoln 37109
- Madison 37115
- Mecklenburg 37119
- Mitchell 37121
- Northampton 37131
- Orange 37135
- Polk 37149
- Randolph 37151
- Rockingham 37157
- Rowan 37159
- Stokes 37169
- Union 37179
- Vance 37181
- Wake 37183
- Wilkes 37193
- Yancey 37199
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 63 I ▾
- Adams 42001
- Allegheny 42003
- Armstrong 42005
- Beaver 42007
- Bedford 42009
- Berks 42011
- Blair 42013
- Bradford 42015
- Bucks 42017
- Butler 42019
- Cambria 42021
- Cameron 42023
- Carbon 42025
- Centre 42027
- Chester 42029
- Clarion 42031
- Clearfield 42033
- Clinton 42035
- Crawford 42039
- Cumberland 42041
- Dauphin 42043
- Delaware 42045
- Elk 42047
- Erie 42049
- Forest 42053
- Franklin 42055
- Fulton 42057
- Greene 42059
- Huntingdon 42061
- Indiana 42063
- Jefferson 42065
- Juniata 42067
- Lackawanna 42069
- Lancaster 42071
- Lawrence 42073
- Lebanon 42075
- Lehigh 42077
- Luzerne 42079
- Lycoming 42081
- Mercer 42085
- Mifflin 42087
- Monroe 42089
- Montgomery 42091
- Montour 42093
- Northampton 42095
- Northumberland 42097
- Perry 42099
- Philadelphia 42101
- Potter 42105
- Schuylkill 42107
- Snyder 42109
- Somerset 42111
- Sullivan 42113
- Susquehanna 42115
- Tioga 42117
- Union 42119
- Venango 42121
- Warren 42123
- Washington 42125
- Wayne 42127
- Westmoreland 42129
- Wyoming 42131
- York 42133
Rhode Island view state ↗ 3 I ▾
Vermont view state ↗ 11 I ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 65 I ▾
- Accomack 51001
- Albemarle 51003
- Alleghany 51005
- Amelia 51007
- Amherst 51009
- Appomattox 51011
- Arlington 51013
- Augusta 51015
- Brunswick 51025
- Buckingham 51029
- Campbell 51031
- Charles City 51036
- Charlotte 51037
- Chesapeake (city) 51550
- Chesterfield 51041
- Clarke 51043
- Craig 51045
- Culpeper 51047
- Fairfax 51059
- Fauquier 51061
- Fluvanna 51065
- Franklin 51067
- Frederick 51069
- Gloucester 51073
- Goochland 51075
- Greene 51079
- Halifax 51083
- Hampton (city) 51650
- Hanover 51085
- Henrico 51087
- Highland 51091
- Isle of Wight 51093
- James City 51095
- Lee 51105
- Loudoun 51107
- Lunenburg 51111
- Madison 51113
- Mecklenburg 51117
- Middlesex 51119
- Montgomery 51121
- Nelson 51125
- Newport News (city) 51700
- Northampton 51131
- Nottoway 51135
- Orange 51137
- Page 51139
- Patrick 51141
- Pittsylvania 51143
- Powhatan 51145
- Prince Edward 51147
- Prince William 51153
- Roanoke 51161
- Rockbridge 51163
- Rockingham 51165
- Russell 51167
- Shenandoah 51171
- Southampton 51175
- Spotsylvania 51177
- Stafford 51179
- Sussex 51183
- Tazewell 51185
- Virginia Beach (city) 51810
- Warren 51187
- Washington 51191
- Wythe 51197
West Virginia view state ↗ 36 I ▾
- Barbour 54001
- Berkeley 54003
- Braxton 54007
- Brooke 54009
- Calhoun 54013
- Fayette 54019
- Gilmer 54021
- Greenbrier 54025
- Hampshire 54027
- Hancock 54029
- Hardy 54031
- Harrison 54033
- Jefferson 54037
- Kanawha 54039
- Logan 54045
- Marion 54049
- Marshall 54051
- McDowell 54047
- Mercer 54055
- Mineral 54057
- Monongalia 54061
- Monroe 54063
- Nicholas 54067
- Ohio 54069
- Pleasants 54073
- Pocahontas 54075
- Preston 54077
- Putnam 54079
- Raleigh 54081
- Ritchie 54085
- Summers 54089
- Tucker 54093
- Upshur 54097
- Wetzel 54103
- Wirt 54105
- Wyoming 54109
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/MESA ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/9151957 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T05:45:41Z