Black Medic vs Coastal wattle

Medicago lupulina compared with Acacia cyclops

Key Differences

• Black Medic is Not Evaluated while Coastal wattle is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Medic	Coastal wattle
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family same	Fabaceae	Fabaceae
Genus	Medicago	Acacia
Species	Medicago lupulina	Acacia cyclops

Evolutionary Relationship

Black Medic and Coastal wattle share a common ancestor at the Family level: Fabaceae.

Conservation Status

Black Medic

NE — Not Evaluated

Coastal wattle

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black Medic	Coastal wattle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black Medic

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (5 countries), Europe (11 countries), North America (5 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, Tonga), and South America (7 countries).

Coastal wattle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 8 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (13 countries), Asia (Israel), Europe (4 countries), and North America (United States).

Black Medic

The Black Medic (Medicago lupulina) is a species in the genus Medicago. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions. Its geographic range spans Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (5 countries), Europe (11 countries), North America (5 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, Tonga), and South America (7 countries).

Coastal wattle

Coastal wattle (Acacia cyclops) is a dense, fast-growing shrub in the family Fabaceae, native to the southwestern and southern coastal regions of Western Australia, from Shark Bay south to the Nullarbor Plain. It grows on coastal dunes, sandy scrubland, and limestone substrates near the sea, where it tolerates salt spray, wind, and summer drought. Coastal wattle produces distinctive circular seeds with bright red arillate coatings, making them highly attractive to birds. Although valued in its native range for coastal stabilisation and revegetation, the species has become highly invasive in southern Africa, particularly South Africa, where it was introduced for dune stabilisation in the 19th century and has since spread extensively across the Cape Floristic Region, displacing native fynbos vegetation. It is listed among the 100 worst invasive species globally by the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group. In Australia, it is assessed as Least Concern. Management of invasive populations in South Africa involves mechanical removal and biological control efforts aimed at protecting the critically threatened fynbos biome.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇵🇹 Portugal 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇪🇸 Spain 🇺🇸 United States