Botanical illustrations， often hailed as “botanical portraits” play an indispensable role in publications by serving as the finishing touch that communicates scientific essence and aesthetic value of plants. China emerges as the earliest practitioner of botanical illustration globally， with records dating back to the Tang Dynasty. The earliest alfalfa illustration appears in Zhu Su’s Jiuhuang Bencao from the early Ming Dynasty， representing the world’s first documented alfalfa drawing. Approximately a century later， Liu Wentai’s Bencao Pinhuijingyao featured similar alfalfa illustrations. Through investigation， both Zhu Su and Liu Wentai's depictions are identified as Medicago sativa； Li Shizhen’s Bencao Gangmu introduced distinct alfalfa illustrations， which textual evidence is confirmed as Medicago hispida. By the late Qing Dynasty， Wu Qijun’s Zhiwu Mingshi Tukao presented three differentiated alfalfa illustrations： alfalfa （M. sativa）， wild alfalfa type I （Medicago falcata）， and wild alfalfa type II （M. hispida）. Through textual research and literature collection， this study conducted critical analysis of 11 alfalfa illustrations from nine Ming-Qing botanical treatises. By integrating the visual representations with their textual explanations and contemporary botanical findings on Medicago species， it has essentially clarified the species identification of alfalfa depicted in Chinese botanical illustrations from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Wild alfalfa  /  Medicago falcata  /  Medicago sativa  /  Medicago hispida  /  Hand drawing  /  Illustration