Medicago orbicularis

Blackdisk medick

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Blackdisk medick is a naturalized annual found in the Central Coast and San Francisco Bay Area in disturbed areas and roadsides at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces yellow flowers with a distinctive dark purple spot on the banner petal, small and delicate in clusters of one to five blossoms. Growing with spreading, mat-forming stems that are nearly hairless, it reaches a low-growing form across the ground. Its leaves feature small obovate leaflets about 1 to 1.5 centimeters long, with stipules divided into a cluster of bristles. The fruit is distinctive, forming a coiled disk-like shape with 3 to 7 loose turns, ranging in color from tan to black and appearing papery.

Habitat: Uncommon. Disturbed areas, roadsides

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: especially < 500 m

Bioregions: ScV, CCo/SnFrB

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.