Lucerne

Medicago sativa

Also known as alfalfa, common purple lucerne, common lucerne, purple alfalfa, purple medick

HerbMedicinal

About Lucerne

Medicago sativa, commonly known as alfalfa () in North America and lucerne () in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. Native to warmer temperate climates, alfalfa has long been cultivated as livestock fodder, perhaps since antiquity. It is an important forage crop in many countries around the world and is used for grazing, hay, and silage.

Description adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Plant Details

Scientific name: Medicago sativa
Genus: Medicago
Family: FABACEAE
Habit: Herb
Habitat: Cultivated
Native to: Mediterranian
Distribution: Mediterranean, West Asia, Temperate regions of the world
Conservation status: Not Evaluated (NE)

Local Names

Hindi: अल्फाल्फा Alfalfa, लुसन घास Lusan Ghas, रिज़का Rizka
Nepali: लुसर्न घाँस Lusarna Ghaansa, लुर्सन घाँस
Bengali: আলফালফা
Tamil: குதிரை மசால் Kutirai Macal, குதிரை மசால்
Telugu: అల్ఫాల్ఫా Alphalpha, అల్ఫాల్ఫా
Kannada: ಆಲ್ಫಾಲ್ಫ Alphalpha, ಕುದುರೆ ಮಸಾಲೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು Kudure Masaale Soppu, ಲುಸರ್ನೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು Lusarne Soppu
Malayalam: അൽഫാൽഫ Alphaalpha, ലുസേൺ Lusen, അൽഫാൽഫ
Marathi: लसूण घास Lasun Ghas, लुजेन Lujen, विलायती गवत Vilayati Gavat

Botanical family

Fabaceae

Legume/Bean family

Lucerne belongs to the Fabaceae family.

The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.

Explore the FABACEAE family →

Snap it. Know it.

Point your camera at lucerne or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.

Download SASYA — Free

More in FABACEAE

View all FABACEAE →