Medicago arborea is a plant species of the genus Medicago

Medicago

Medicago is a genus of flowering plants, commonly known as medick or burclover. The name is based on Latin medica 'alfalfa, lucerne,' from 'Median .'...

. Common names include moon trefoil, shrub medick, and tree medick. It is found throughout Europe and especially in the Mediterranean basin. It forms a symbiotic

Symbiosis

Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...

 relationship with the bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti

Sinorhizobium meliloti

Sinorhizobium meliloti is a Gram-negative nitrogen-fixing bacterium . It forms a symbiotic relationship with legumes from the genera Medicago, Melilotus and Trigonella, including the model legume Medicago truncatula. This symbiosis results in a new plant organ termed a root nodule. The S...

, which is capable of nitrogen fixation

Nitrogen fixation

Nitrogen fixation is the natural process, either biological or abiotic, by which nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into ammonia . This process is essential for life because fixed nitrogen is required to biosynthesize the basic building blocks of life, e.g., nucleotides for DNA and RNA and...

. It is the only member of the genus Medicago which is used as an ornamental and it is the only woody species. M. arborea is sometimes misidentified as Cytisus

Cytisus

Cytisus is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae.-Selected species:* Cytisus arboreus  DC.* Cytisus ardoini E.Fourn.* Cytisus baeticus  Steud....

, which it resembles.

External links

• International Legume Database & Information Services
• http://www.dipbot.unict.it/orto/0645-1.html
• http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Medicago+arborea