Scorpiurus muricatus L.: an interesting legume species for Mediterranean forage systems

Scorpiurus muricatus L. (prickly scorpion’s tail) is a legume species widely distributed as a spontaneous plant in Mediterranean pastures. In Sicily, farmers ascribe to this species a very high palatability and galactogogue effect, so that its abundance increases the value of the pasture. However, despite its worthy traits, the use of S. muricatus as a forage within cropping systems has not been well investigated. A field experiment was performed during two growing seasons in a semiarid Mediterranean environment to acquire information on the productivity of S. muricatus in comparison with other forage species grown in Mediterranean areas (e.g. berseem clover, burr medic, subterranean clover…