Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: Central Asia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

Alfalfa is a perennial flowering legume cultivated worldwide as one of the most productive forage crops, capable of fixing up to 200 kg of nitrogen per hectare annually through root nodule bacteria. Its small violet-purple blossoms attract specialist bees that must vibrate the flower to release pollen — a behaviour called buzz pollination.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Medicago
Species: Medicago sativa