Medicago sativa
Alfalfa
(c) Duarte Frade, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Fabaceae · Type: Herb · Not Native
Medicago sativa (Alfalfa) is a non-native California herb in the Fabaceae family, recognized by only perennial with erect habit and violet flowers.
Alfalfa is a naturalized perennial herb found in California's Central Valley, Great Basin, and Panamint Mountains in disturbed and agricultural areas at elevations below 2,450 meters. Flowering from April to October, this plant produces violet to yellow-green flowers in compact spike-like clusters with 8 to 30 blooms. Growing with generally erect stems 20 to 80 centimeters tall that are slightly hairy or smooth, it has distinctive compound leaves with narrow lanceolate to obovate leaflets. Its leaves feature lanceolate stipules that may be entire or sharply toothed, with individual leaflets 10 to 29 millimeters long. The fruit develops as a coiled or occasionally straight leathery pod that is light to dark yellow-brown in color.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 9 sympatric species; only perennial with erect habit and violet flowers
Habitat and range
Habitat: Disturbed, agricultural areas
Elevation: < 2450 m
California counties: Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, Ventura, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz, Alameda, Colusa, Kern, Fresno, Tulare, Inyo, Imperial, San Mateo, Kings, Santa Clara, Modoc, San Diego, Yolo, San Luis Obispo, El Dorado, Sacramento, Solano, Contra Costa, Butte, Lassen, Stanislaus, Plumas, Tuolumne, Siskiyou, Glenn, Napa, Humboldt, Trinity, Calaveras, Marin, Yuba, Mendocino, Placer, Nevada, Lake, San Francisco, Monterey
Outside California: United States except southeastern, native to Eurasia
Bloom period
Medicago sativa blooms Apr-Oct.
How to tell it apart
vs Melilotus: Medicago fruits are spirally coiled; Melilotus fruits are small egg-shaped pods with transverse ridges.; vs Trifolium: Medicago flowers fall off; Trifolium flowers persist and enclose the fruit in papery covering.; vs Oxalis: Medicago has pea-shaped flowers and coiled fruits; wood-sorrels (Oxalis) have 5-petaled flowers and upright capsules.; vs Acmispon: Medicago has toothed leaflets and coiled fruits; Acmispon has smooth-edged leaflets and straight pods.; vs Vicia: Medicago has coiled prickly fruits; vetches (Vicia) have flat straight pods and tendrils.
Frequently asked questions
Is Medicago sativa native to California?
No. Medicago sativa is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Medicago sativa bloom?
Medicago sativa blooms Apr-Oct.
Where in California does Medicago sativa grow?
Medicago sativa occurs in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, Ventura, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz and other counties, at elevations of < 2450 m.
What plant family does Medicago sativa belong to?
Medicago sativa is in the Fabaceae family, genus Medicago.
What habitat does Medicago sativa grow in?
Medicago sativa grows in Disturbed, agricultural areas.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.