|
Abstract:
|
(En, Fr)
Morphological, cytological, and agronomic characteristics are reported for 560 accessions of the Medicago murex Willd. complex collected from countries bordering the Mediterranean and grown in field plots in Western Australia. All plants of the 2n = 16 taxon were shown to have white flecks on the leaves, a mean number of florets on each peduncle of <2.5, and usually no ridges on the edge of the pod coils. Plants of the 2n = 14 taxon never had white leaf flecks, 99 per cent of accessions had a mean numbe e recognised as separate species. A reexamination showed that Wildenow's original material of M.murex was most likely to be of the 2n = 16 species. We suggest that the name of the 2n = 14 species is Medicago sphaerocarpos Bertol.
|
