Medicago polymorpha L.
A hairless or sparsely hairy annual with ascending or decumbent stems from 15 to about 60 cm long. Leaves trifoliate; leaflets between 5 to 25 mm long, obovate to obcordate, toothed at the ends. Stipules deeply toothed. Flowers yellow, small, 3 to 5 mm long, in axillary racemes of between 2 and 8 flowers. Peduncles 10 to 35 mm long. Seed pods hairless, disc-shaped to cylindrical, 4 to 9 mm diameter; spirally coiled with 2 to 6 turns; turning brown. Spines 1 to 4 mm long, slender, hooked at the ends, in two rows along the edge of the pod; spreading radially.
Local: Very common and widespread throughout Gibraltar.
Global: Found throughout the Mediterranean region, south-east Europe, the Canary Islands and south-west Asia.
Flowers between (January) February, March, April, May and June.
Grows in grassy places, fields, clearings and waysides.