page_title: Alfalfa
section_title: Beneficial insects
hierarchical_section_title: Alfalfa / Beneficial insects
caption_attribution_description: Eesti: Meemesilane (Apis mellifera) hariliku lutserni (Medicago sativa) õisikul. Valingu, Loode-Eesti. English: Honey bee (Apis mellifera) pollinates alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Valingu, Northwestern Estonia.
context_page_description: Alfalfa, also called lucerne and called Medicago sativa in binomial nomenclature, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as well as a green manure and cover crop. The name alfalfa is used in North America. The name lucerne is the more commonly used name in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The plant superficially resembles clover, especially while young, when trifoliate leaves comprising round leaflets predominate. Later in maturity, leaflets are elongated. It has clusters of small purple flowers followed by fruits spiralled in 2 to 3 turns containing 10–20 seeds. Alfalfa is native to warmer temperate climates. It has been cultivated as livestock fodder since at least the era of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Alfalfa sprouts are a common ingredient in dishes made in South Indian cuisine.
context_section_description: Alfalfa is considered an insectary, a place where insects are reared, and has been proposed as helpful to other crops, such as cotton, if the two are interplanted, because the alfalfa harbours predatory and parasitic insects that would protect the other crop. Harvesting the alfalfa by mowing the entire crop area destroys the insect population, but this can be avoided by mowing in strips so that part of the growth remains.
caption: Honey bee (Apis mellifera), a pollinator on alfalfa flower
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