320 LEGUMINOSiE. Melilotus. 



Involucre scarious. Upper teeth of the calyx very short, about one-third the 

 length of the others. 



32. T. cyatlnfcrnm (Lindl.): prostrate or ascending, branched, glabrous; 

 leaflets oblong and obovate-cuneate ; mucronate, spinulose-serrate ; stipules 

 somewhat scarious, ovate, laciniatc-toothed ; prduncles long ; involucre cya- 

 thiform (large), the border obtusely many-tooihed, transversely rugose be- 

 tween the veins, somewhat shorter than the hemispherical many-flowered 

 head ; calyx oblong, somewhat inflated, membranaceous ; the teeth setace- 

 ously 3-many-partcd, as long as the corolla ; legume dehiscent. 2-seeded. — 

 Lindl hot. reg. suh t. 1070 ; Hnok. f. Eor.-Am. 1. p. 133, t. 50'. 



Moist vallies of the Oregon, Douglas ! Rocky Mountains, Nuttnll .' — (T) 

 Stem 12-18 inches long. Stipules ovate, acuminate or obtuse. Involucre 

 membranaceous, about 9-toothcd. Heads compact. Corolla very short, pale 

 rose-color : vexillum free : wings scarcely shorter than the vexillum : keel 

 and stamen-tube united. 



§3. Heads not involucrate : legume coriaceous, globose, exserted, dehis- 

 cent by the ventral suture. — Chasmalobus, Nutt. mss. 



33. T. gymnocarpon (Nutt.! mss.): "cesspitose, minutely pubescent; 

 caudex short and thick; leaves mostly radical; leaflets oval-oblong or ellip- 

 tical, obtuse, serrate, nearly glabrous above ; stipules scarious, ova! ; flower- 

 ing stems very short, a little leafy at the summit ; peduncles about the length 

 of the petioles ; heads 5-6-flowcred ; segments of the calyx subulate, as long 

 as the tube ; legume hairy, reticulate-rugose, 1-2-seeded, the stipe about the 

 length of the calyx-tube." 



''Dry hills of the Rocky Mountain range, near the sources of the Sweet- 

 water of the Platte. May-June. — 71 Plant 2-3 inches high ; the caudex 

 thickly clothed with the vestigey of stipules. Leaflets 3-5 lines in length : 

 petioles rather long. Flowering stems scarcely exserted, with one or two 

 leaves and several peduncles aggregated at the summit. Flowers ochroleu- 

 cous : vexillum free, oblong. Legume about the size of a small pea. Seeds 

 large, one of them usually abortive." Niittall. 



30. MELILOTUS. Tourn. inst. t.229; Lam. ill. t. 613; W. f Am. 

 prodr. Ind Or. p. 196. 



Calyx tubular or campanulate, persistent, 5-toothed. CoroUa deciduous '. 

 vexillum free, longer than the Avings : keel-petals completely united, cohering 

 with the wings, free from the stamen-tube. Style terminal, fiUform. Le- 

 gumes coriaceous, globose or ovoid, longer than the calyx, scarcely dehiscent, 

 1-few-seeded. — Annual or perennial (odorous) herbs. Leaves pinnately 

 trifoliolate : leaflets mostly toothed; veins simple or forked. Stipules adnate 

 to the base of the petiole. Flowers in axillary somewhat spicate racemes, 

 yellow or white. 



/ 1. M. officinalis (WiWd.): stem erect, with spreading branches; leaflets 

 obovate-oblong, obtuse, remotely serrate; stipules setaceous; racemes rather 

 loose ; teeth of the calyx unequal, as Ion? as the tube ; corolla (yellow) more 

 than twice the length of the calyx; petals nearly equal in length; legumes 

 ovate, wrinkled, 2-seeded.— If iZ/rf. enum. p. 190; Ell. sk. 2. p. \99] DC. 

 prodr. 2. p. 186. M. officinalis a., Linn. M. vulgaris, Eaton ! man. ed. 7. 

 p. 391. 



Rich alluvial soils, Canada ! to Georgia. Introduced. June-Aug. — (T) Stem 

 2-4 feet high. Racemes elongated, somewhat panicled. — Yellow Melilot. 



