Alfalfa pronounced mùxu

Alfalfa is the common name for plants of the genus Clover, commonly known as alfalfa, which is a perennial flowering plant. The most famous of these is alfalfa, which is used as a pasture grass. There are many types of alfalfa, mostly wild herbs. There are three main types of alfalfa produced in China. Alfalfa is the richest in vitamin K, which is higher than any other vegetable. Other vitamins such as vitamin C and B are also quite rich. It is mostly used as livestock feed. Introduced from the Western Regions in the Western Han Dynasty."

Clover (scientific name: Medicago sativa?L.) is a perennial persistent herbaceous plant of the family Leguminosae, genus Clover, with erect, tufted or creeping stems that are four-angled and much-branched; stipules are larger, ovate-lanceolate, and the small leaves are obovate-oblong; flowers are in racemes of racemose form; pedicels are zun-campanulate, with purple flowers in the corolla; fruits are spiral-shaped and brownish when ripe; seeds are small and smooth, yellow or brown.

Cultivated or semi-wild throughout the country, widely cultivated in Eurasia and the world. Raw fields, roadsides, open fields, grasslands, riverbanks and ravines.

The origin of alfalfa is not in the Central Plains, it was introduced into the Central Plains in the Han Dynasty from the "Western Regions". (During the Han Dynasty, west of the Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass in Gansu Province, Xinjiang and beyond, was called the "Western Regions".) Zhang Qian of the Western Han Dynasty made two trips to the "Western Regions" in 138 B.C. and 119 B.C., respectively, which strengthened the relationship between the mainland and the "Western Regions". "The two missions of Zhang Qian in 138 B.C. and 119 B.C. in the Western Han Dynasty strengthened the economic and cultural exchanges between the mainland and the Western Regions.

Alfalfa was introduced to the Central Plains at this time. The original name of the golden cauliflower is alfalfa, which belongs to the legume family. See contained in the Tao Jinghong "famous doctor Bie Lu". Everywhere there is wild, there are also cultivated. Jiangsu Suzhou and other places will be its young seedlings pickled as vegetables, called the golden cauliflower.

Clover is widely adaptable and can grow in a variety of terrain and soil. But the most suitable conditions are loose sandy loam soil, pH value of 6.5-7.5, winter temperature -20 ℃ or so, annual precipitation in 300-800mm, should not be planted in low-lying and easy to waterlogged ground. It can be planted on mildly saline land, but salt pressure measures should be taken when the salt content in the soil exceeds 0.3%.