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Medicago sativa

  • Perennial
Home Perennial Medicago sativa

Waste ground, avoiding acid soils.

Family: Fabaceae
Height: 1 m / 4 ft
Sun
Light, Medium and Heavy Soil
Dry to Moist

Plant Rating

Edible Uses: 4 of 5
Medicinal Uses: 3 of 5
Other Uses: 4 of 5

Native Habitat

Alfalfa, Yellow alfalfa Medicago sativa native habitat is Waste ground, avoiding acid soils.

Edible Uses

Leaves and young shoots - raw or cooked. The leaves can also be dried for later use. Very rich in vitamins, especially A, B and C, they are also a good source of protein. The leaves are a rich source of vitamin K. A very nutritious food in moderation, though it can trigger attacks in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and large quantities can affect liver function and cause photosensitization. A nutritional analysis is available. The seed is commonly used as a sprouted seed which is added to salads, used in sandwiches etc or cooked in soups. The seed is soaked in warm water for 12 hours, then kept moist in a container in a warm place to sprout. It is ready in about 4 - 6 days. The seeds can also be ground into a powder and used as a mush, or mixed with cereal flours for making a nutritionally improved bread etc. Seed yields average around 186 - 280 kilos per hectare. An appetite-stimulating tea is made from the leaves, it has a flavour somewhat reminiscent of boiled socks and is slightly laxative.

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