Medicago characterisation data
Data from 107 Medicago accessions of 19 species characterised by ILRI in Ethiopia between 1999 and 2015
ILRI accession number
Species name
Site in Ethiopia where accession was characterised
Date when characterisation data recorded
The type of growth of the plant
Average angle of the stem to the ground, rating taken at full flowering.
Height from the ground to tip of 10 randomly chosen mature plants
Thickness of stem 5 nodes from the top, counting from first unfolded leaf, at full flowering.
Density of hairs, if present
The hardness of the stem when squeezed
Length of central leaflet at its longest point, excluding any petiole
Width of leaflet at its widest point
Length of a typical stipule at its longest point from a fully grown adult leaf at the middle of the main stem
Width of a typical stipule at its widest point from a fully grown adult leaf at the middle of the main stem
Density of hairs, if present, on leaflet upper surface
Density of hairs, if present, on leaflet lower surface
Length at longest point of standard petal excluding petiole
Width at widest point of standard petal
Dominant colour of flower (standard petal). Colours with a number are from the Royal Horticultural Society colour chart.
Length of fully developed pod at longest point, excluding any stalk, prior to maturity
Width of fully developed pod at widest point, prior to maturity
Density of hairs, if present, on mature, fresh seed pod
Number of seeds (mature and immature) per healthy pod
Length at longest point. 10 randomly-chosen seeds.
Width at widest point. 10 randomly-chosen seeds.
Thickness at thickest point. 10 randomly-chosen seeds.
Weight of 100 randomly-chosen seeds at completion of experiment.
At completion of field trial. Currently these are only colours for Alysicarpus accessions. Other genera will show a different range. Colours with a number are from the Royal Horticultural Society colour chart.
List of accessions included in the dataset