Medicago (medics) is a genus of about 50 species of annual and perennial herbs from Europe and Asia. Many species are cultivated as pasture legumes and several are naturalised in Western Australia. M. arabica (spotted medic) is an annual with prostrate or spreading stems up to 60cm long. It bears two to five yellow flowers in spring on an axillary stalk that is about the same length as the leaf stalk. The pod is coiled three to seven times and ornamented with prominent spines up to 4mm long. Readily distinguished from other medics by the black or brown blotch on each leaflet. An occasional weed of wasteland, from Perth to Albany.

Medicago arabica, PH

M. minima (small burr medic, woolly burr medic, goldfields medic) is the smallest of the burr-fruited medics naturalised in Western Australia, and has stems up to 30cm long. Yellow flowers in clusters of one to eight are produced in winter and spring. The pods are dark brown with three to five loose coils, less than 5mm across and densely hairy beneath the erect, hooked spines that are up to 4mm long. Distinguished by its small, spiny fruit, the hairiness of the whole plant and its small size. An annual naturalised in farmland, roadsides, wasteland, native woodlands and granite rocks, scattered from Geraldton to Norseman.

M. minima , PH

M. polymorpha (burr medic) is a yellow-flowered, usually hairless annual with stems up to 60cm long. Clusters of two to seven flowers are borne in winter and spring on stalks usually less than 10mm long. The greenish-brown pod is a disc-like or cylindrical burr, 2-12mm long and up to 8mm in diameter, made up of one to six coils. The burrs are usually densely spined, but some varieties lack spines. Widely naturalised in many situations throughout the south-west, including lawns, from Shark Bay to Balladonia.

M. polymorpha , SE

M. sativa (lucerne, alfalfa) is a shrub-like perennial with stems up to 80cm long. Produces spikes of violet or purple flowers in late spring and summer. Found occasionally on road sides in the Metropolitan area and scattered throughout the south-west. Cultivated as a perennial pasture plant. Other medics have been introduced to Western Australia, and could possibly be encountered. Consult a specialist text for details. The following have been recorded as naturalised at least once: M. intertexta (Calvary medic); M. laciniata (cutleaf medic); M. lupulina (black medic); M. orbicularis; M. praecox; M. scutellata (snail medic) and M. truncatula.

M. sativa , PH

Melilotus (melilots) are annuals or short-lived perennials with trefoil leaves with toothed leaflets, and flowers in axilliary racemes.
M. albus (Bokhara clover) is an annual or biennial that can grow to 2m high. It has small white flowers in spring and summer with the inflorescence and stalk between 5-23cm long. Native to Europe and Asia, it has been found on roadsides and wasteland from Carnarvon to Esperance. M. indicus (Hexham scent, common melilot, King Island melilot) is an erect annual or short-lived perennial to 50cm. It has small (2-3mm) yellow flowers in spring and summer, with an inflorescence and stalk between 2-10cm long. Native to the Mediterranean, it is an occasional weed of pasture paddocks and a widespread weed of islands, coastal dunes, wasteland, creeks, granite rocks and coastal woodlands from Shark Bay to Esperance. It is an aromatic contaminant in hay and meat products. M. messanensis (Messina melilot) is a somewhat succulent annual with yellow flowers produced in spring. The inflorescence stalk is about 1cm long. Native to the Mediterranean, it has been found in wet pasture and hay paddocks on the southern Swan Coastal Plain.

Melilotus indicus, RR

Ornithopus (serradella) is a genus of annuals with pinnate leaves with numerous leaflets, small flowers in stalked clusters in the axils of the leaves and sickle-shaped pods. O. compressus (yellow serradella) is a prostrate, grey-hairy annual with yellow flowers in early summer. It has 7 to 18 pairs of leaflets. It is found on roadsides and wetlands from Gingin to Esperance. Native to southern Europe. O. pinnatus (slender serradella) is a delicate-looking, slender, hairless annual to 50cm tall. It has yellow flowers in late spring and three to seven pairs of leaflets. Found in gardens, on roadsides in the wetter south-west from south of Perth to Albany. Native to Europe. O. sativus (French serradella) is a sprawling, hairy annual with pink flowers and 5 to 18 pairs of leaflets. It has been recorded as naturalised around Perth, Busselton and Esperance. Native to the Mediterranean. This genus is increasingly being planted as a legume pasture, and it is likely that the number of naturalised populations will increase.

Ornithopus compressus , PH

Podalyria sericea is an upright, silvery-grey shrub to 1.5m with shining silvery-hairy, elliptic leaves. Sweetly-scented mauve flowers are followed by inflated pods. A garden escape on wasteland and road verges from Perth to Manjimup and Margaret River. Native to South Africa.

Podalyria sericea, GK

Psoralea pinnata (taylorina) is a shrub or small tree to 4m with linear leaves and clusters of sweet-smelling pale blue flowers in winter and spring. Introduced from southern Africa as a source of honey for bees, the plant has become the dominant vegetation in swamps, creeks and on roadsides in the Albany coastal agricultural region.Apart from being common around Albany, there are scattered records of it growing west to Augusta and north to Perth, for example at Lesmurdie Falls.

Psoralea pinnata , RR