Image – Wikimedia/Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz
On the coast there are very resistant plants, which find in this environment a place to live and even to flourish. If we take into account that here the wind can blow hard, and that the air is also loaded with salt, the most common thing is to find low species, such as the sea doctor.
If you have been or live in the Mediterranean region, you have surely seen it at some point. A small plant, with pubescent leaves arising from stems that grow without raising much ground.
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How is the sea doctor?
Image – Wikimedia/Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz
It’s a perennial herb with prostrate stems up to half a meter long. The leaves are trifoliate, meaning they consist of three green to gray leaflets. Its touch is very soft, since it is covered with very, very short white hairs.
The flowers bloom in spring and are yellow.. They appear almost at the end of the stems, and they also do so in groups of 5 to 12. When pollinated, the fruits ripen. They are spiral-shaped legumes that measure a maximum of 2 centimeters in diameter.
In popular parlance, it is known as beach cart, beach grass, sea clover, or spiny dogfish.
Where does he live?
As we mentioned at the beginning, it is a herb native to the Mediterranean. Specific, It lives on the coast, as well as in sandbanks up to 50 meters above sea level.
It is important to say that it is included in the Red List of Vascular Flora of Andalusia, in the category of Minor Concern.
Does it have a use or a property?
Image – Wikimedia/Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz
The sea doctorunlike his sister medicago sativaknown as alfalfa, has no use or ownership. Now, while it’s true that it’s not the prettiest plant in the world, it could be very, very interesting to grow it in a wildlife garden near the sea. Its flowers, although small, have some ornamental value.
Therefore, if you dare to cultivate it, we recommend that you do it in the following way:
- Sowing: seeds are sown in the spring. This should be done in seed trays, placing no more than two in each hole. The substrate to be used can be universal. They are buried a little and watered.
- Location: it is important that you give them direct sun, because they will not be able to do well in the shade.
- plant in the garden: You can plant them in the ground as soon as the roots come out of the holes in the seed tray. Remember that their stems can be more or less half a meter long, so the ideal is to plant them about 55 centimeters from others.
- Irrigation: moderate watering. It is necessary to water every 2 or 3 days during the summer, and less the rest of the year.
- Subscriber: this will not be necessary, but if you wish you can add a little earthworm humus (on sale here) or compost.
How is it different from medicago sativa or alfalfa?
Image – Flickr/Matt Lavin // Alfalfa
The truth is that they are very different. Our protagonist is a creeping grass, with stems that are about 50 centimeters long, and which is also covered with numerous white hairs. Alfalfa, on the other hand, is a grass that grows erect or suberect, with an approximate height of 60 centimeters.; and though it may be pubescent, it is not so pubescent as the beach sparrow.
On the other hand, we have the flowers: those of the beach runner are yellowwhile those of alfalfa are purple.
And in terms of uses, alfalfa is used as cattle feed, but the beach runner, as we mentioned, has no use.
As you can see, the sea doctor It is a herb that can be very interesting.