Alfalfa

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop. In the UK, Australia, and New Zealand it is known as lucerne and as lucerne grass in south Asia. Alfalfa is a cool season perennial legume living from three to twelve years, depending on variety and climate. It resembles clover with clusters of small purple flowers. The plant grows to a height of up to 1 metre, and has a deep root system sometimes stretching to 4.5 metres. This makes it very resilient, especially to droughts. However, the plant exhibits "autotoxicity", which means that it is difficult for alfalfa seed to grow in existing stands of alfalfa. Therefore, it is recommended that alfalfa fields be rotated with other species (for example, corn or wheat) before reseeding.