Alfalfa was first cultivated in ancient Persia. After the Persian invasion of ancient Greece, cultivation of the
herb as animal fodder spread throughout the Mediterranean region.
Although alfalfa is widely distributed in the western world today, it
wasn’t until the 1500s that the Spanish introduced the plant to North
America. The early 18th American colonists struggled for years before
successfully growing the plant, which they called lucerne.
This
alternate name is an adaption of luzerno, a 16th century French word
that translates to “glow worm” and is a reference to the plant’s glossy
seeds. Alfalfa is still called lucerne in France and in other parts of
Europe today.
