Question: I spotted this beauty yesterday, June 26, at Wilbur Preserve South in Dennis on Cape Cod. It was growing in …
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Question
I spotted this beauty yesterday, June 26, at Wilbur Preserve South in Dennis on Cape Cod. It was growing in sand next to the parking area along the edge of a marshy inlet mostly surrounded by beach roses & such. I haven't been able to ID it. I'd thought perhaps something in the clover family, but can't find any that are even close to this color. Can anyone help? Sorry I didn't get a better picture of the base of the plant, I didn't expect it to be this tricky. Thanks!
Answer
Dear jodinbruce, good afternoon. You have indeed found a species in the legume family and it is one of the very few genera that have small teeth on the leaflet margsins (e.g., Trifolium, Medicago, Melilotus). I am not certain who you have photographed as I haven't seen this morphology before. Some species of Medicago show the bristle-tipped leaflets displayed by the plants in this image. I will continue to study and try to locate a name for this plant. If you are able to return for additional images of stems and fruits, that would be very helpful.
