Medicago scutellata

Snail medick

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Snail medick is a naturalized annual found in southern Coastal Ranges in disturbed areas and roadsides at elevations below 300 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces yellow to orange-yellow flowers in small clusters of 1 to 3 blooms. Growing with prostrate to decumbent stems 20 to 60 centimeters long that are hairy or glandular-hairy, it spreads across the ground in a loose, sprawling form. Its leaves have three leaflets 10 to 15 millimeters long, each obovate to elliptic in shape, with stipules that are ovate and slightly toothed near the base. The distinctive fruit forms a tightly coiled pod with 4 to 8 turns, creating a snail-like shape that gives the plant its common name.

Habitat: Uncommon. Disturbed areas, roadsides

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: < 300 m

Bioregions: SCoRO

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