Another pair of plants sold for their amusement value is Horns and Hedgehogs! (See this older post.)
This post is about the plant I decided might have been the Hedgehog.
The Hedgehog Medick, Medicago intertexta, is it as far as I am concerned.
I based my choice on the fact the common name of this plant includes the word Hedgehog and it is very cool looking! A child would love it.
I also found this in a book from 1855, "M. mactilata (Spotted Medick)....
The Rev. C. A. Johns says that this plant, which is in Cornwall called spotted clover, is there considered very injurious to the pasturage. The coiled and prickly seed vessel is very curious, and many of the Medicks have seed vessels still more so.
The Snail-shell Medick of the South of Europe, (Medicago scutellata), has a large seed vessel formed of numerous coils; and the still more singular legume of the Hedgehog Medick, (Medicago intertexta), has led to the frequent culture of this plant in our gardens. " From: The flowering plants and ferns of Great Britain, Volume 2, By Anne Pratt
Above photo by Franz Neidl
By the way, it is a nitrogen fixing plant.Links:
- A very nice plant database including Medicago intertexta ,
- Linnean Herbarium, Department of Phanerogamic Botany, Swedish Museum of Natural History - Nice specimen and handwritten description
- Kew Herbarium
This is one of the the Linnean herbarium images.
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