LEGDMINOS^. 118 DESMODIUM. 



2. T. REPENS. 



Heads umhelhle : legumes 4-seeded; stems crcepinfr. A common pnsture 

 plant, much valued by farmers. Steins several from the same root, sjjreading, 

 extendinsj (j — 12 inches, rooting at the joints, smooth. Leaves ternate, on 

 long stalks, leaflets roundish, lighter colored in tlie centre. Flowers white, 

 in a dense liead resembling an umbel, the stalk much longer than the leaves, 

 solitary, axillary, angular. Pods included within the calyx. The White Clo- 

 ver grows in all soils, mountainous, meadovv' or rocky, and soon springs up 

 in newly cleared lands. May — Sept. Per. White Ciover. 



8. T. PROCu'mbens. L. T. procumbens and agrarium. L. 



Spikes ovo.], imbricate; vcxilium furrowed, reflexed, persistent; siem pro- 

 cumbent; leaflets obovate. An annual species, v/ith bright yellow heads of 

 llowers, found in dry pastures. Stems numerous, spreading, 6 — 12 inches in 

 length. In richer soil, the stems are procumbent only at the base, afterwards 

 erect or nearly so, slender, smoothish, reddish. Leaflets in 3s, obovate or 

 roundisli, the middle one stalked. Lower common leaf-stalks an inch in length, 

 more or less. Spikes about liO-fiovvered. oftener hemispherical, small June. 

 July. ■ Yellow Clover. Hop Trefoil. 



4. T. arve'nse. 



Heads cylindrical, very hairy ; calyx teeth setaceous, longer than the corol- 

 la; leaflels narrow-obovate. A low plant, abundant in dry, sandy fields. 

 Stems much branched, round, hair}', G — 12 inches high. Leaves hairy, on 

 short petioles, of 3 narrow leaflets, half an inch to an inch long. Stipules 

 ovate-lanceolate, acute, often red. Heads of while or pale red flowers, spiked, 

 half an inch to an inch and a half long, very soft and downy, the slender, 

 equal calyx teeth being densely fringed with fine, siUjy, reddish hairs, and 

 projecting far beyond the corolla. Jl. Aug. Ann. Hair's-foot Trefoil. 



5. T. me'dium. 



Stem branching, flexuous, suberect ; leaflets oblong, subentire ; stipvles 

 acuminate ; heads of floaters loose, roundish ; calyx hairy, with setaceous teeth. 

 Heads large, deep purple. Leaves uniformly green. Introduced. Per. 



6. T. refle'xum. 



Procumbent, pubescent; leaves obovate; stipules cordate, oblique; heads 

 many-tlowered; flowers podicelled, at length reflexed; /e4'-MOTeA- about 3-seed- 

 ed. Dry rocky hills in the S. States. Stems 12 — 18 inches m length. Leaves 

 of 3 inversely egg-shaped, slightly serrate, soft, downy leaflets, variegated 

 with white. Flowers large and handsome, red, in terminal and axillary heads, 

 reflexed when in fruit. Jn. Per. Buffalo Clover. 



11. D E S M O' D I U M . 



Calyx S-cIeft, bilabiate, bii)raclcolate at base; legume lo- 

 mentaceous, compressed, composed of several 1-seeded, sep- 

 arable joints. 



Gr. diiTf/,oi, a bond; in reference to the slightly connected joints of the 

 loment. Cal. lower lij) 3-parted or 3-tootlied, the upper, 2. Cor. papil. Vex. 

 roundish. Keel obtuse. Sla. diadelphous, 9 iSl 1. — Herbaceous or sufjruti» 

 cose. Leaves pinnately trifoliate. 



