What plant is that?

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Photo credits: © Francis R. Underwood 2015

This month’s mystery plant is a perennial with alternate leaves divided into 3 leaflets. The 3 leaflets are toothed toward the tip. The plant has very showy blue flowers arranged in tight clusters (racemes) in the leaf axils. The fruit is a small, slightly hairy pod. This plant which is sometimes cultivated as forage grows up to three feet tall and often escapes. It can be found growing in fields and along roadsides. It blooms from June through September.

It’s. . .

Botanical Name:		Medicago sativa
Common Name:		Alfalfa
Family:		Fabaceae (Legume Family)
Habitat:		Fields and roadsides