Moon Trefoil (Medicago arborea)

Family: Fabaceae or Leguminosae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Medicago arborea is an evergreen Shrub growing to 2 m (6ft) by 2 m (6ft). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 8 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). It can fix Nitrogen. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Leaves

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Spring

Flavor & Culinary Uses

sweet, grass-like flavour but a rather chewy texture. — Leaves - raw or cooked.; This plant was supplied to Plants for a Future in early 1994 from a person in Greece who said that it was often used in salads there.; Young shoots, when the plant is growing vigorously, have a slightly sweet, grass-like flavour but a rather chewy texture.; Older leaves, and younger leaves if the plant is not growing vigorously, have a distinct bitterness and are rather unpleasant.

Habitat & North American Range

Scrub and rocky hillsides. (Zone 7, Zone 8, Zone 9, Zone 10)