328 XLVII. LEGUMINOS^. Medicago. 



less pubescent, striate, 3 — 10' long, often suberect. Leaflets 4 — 8' long, | — 

 equally as wide, lateral ones placed 1 — 2" below the terminal one, petiole J — 

 ly long. Heads about 20-flowered, 2 — 3" diam., on slender peduncles J — IJ' 

 long. Flowers at length reflexed. Jn. Jl. § 



9. T. AGRARIUM. Field oT Hop Trefoil. Yellow Clover. 



St. ascending or erect ; Ifts. obovate-oblong, or oblong-cuneate, denticu- 

 late, all subsessile ; stip. linear-lanceolate, cohering with and longer than the 

 petiole; hds. ovoid-elliptic, on long peduncles ; 2 upper cal. segments shorter; 

 cor. yellow ; sty. about equaling the 1-seeded legume. — (T) Sandy fields, N. Eng ! 

 Stems 6 — 15' high, branched, minutely pubescent. Leaflets 5—10" by 1 — 3". 

 Common petiole 3 — 10" long, the upper ones shorter than their stipules. Heads 

 of flowers twice larger than in the last, on peduncles | — IJ' long. Flowers at 

 length reflexed. Jl. Aug. ^ 



19. MELT LOT US. Tourn. 

 Lat. mel, honey, and lotus ; in doing it exhales a sweet odor. 



Calyx tubular, 5-toothed, persistent ; corolla deciduous, keel pe- 

 tals completely united, shorter than the alas or vexillum ; stamens 

 diadelphous (9 and 1); legume rugose, longer than calyx, I — few- 

 seeded. — Genus taken from Tri folium. Lvs. f innately trifoliate, veins 

 of the leaflets simple or forked. Fls. in racemes. 



1. M. OFFICINALIS. Willd. (M. vulgaris. Ea.) Yclloio Mclilot. 



St. erect, with spreading branches ; Ifts. obovate-oblong, obtuse, dentate ; 

 rac. spicate, axillary, paniculate, loose; cal. half as long as the yellow corolla ; 

 leg. 2-seeded, ovoid. — Alluvial meadows. Stem sulcate, about 3f high. Leaf- 

 lets smooth, with remote, mucronate teeth. Flowers in long, 1-sided, slender 

 racemes. Petals of nearly equal length. The whole plant is sweet-scented. Jn. ^ 



2. M. LEUCANTHA. Koch. (TrifoHum officinale, /?. Linn. M. officinalis, 

 /?. alba, Nutt. and of 1st. edit.) White Mclilot. Sweet-scented Clover. 



St. erect, branched ; Ifts. ovate-oblong, truncate and mucronate at the 

 apex, remotely serrate; stip. setaceous; cal. less than half as long as the white 

 corolla; leg. 2-seeded, ovoid. — (g) Alluvial soils. Stem robust, very branching, 

 sulcate, 4 — 6f high. Leaflets 1 — 2' long, more obtuse at the apex than at base, 

 mucronately serrate. Flowers numerous, the racemes more loose and longer 

 than in the last. Petals unequal, banner longer than wings or keel. Very fra- 

 grant when dried. Jl. Aug. ^f 



20. MEDIC A GO. 



Name derived from Medea, its native country? 



Calyx 5-cleft, subcylindric ; keel of the corolla deflexed from the 

 vexillum by the falcate or spirally coiled legume. — Herbs with pal- 

 mately trifoliate leaves. 



1. M. LUPULlNA. None-such. 



Spikes ovate ; leg. reniform, 1-seeded, veiny, rugose ; sts. procumbent. — 

 (j) Common in fields and road-sides, Can. to Flor. Stems angular, leafy, 6 — 16' 

 long. Leaves resenibling those of clover. Leaflets obovate, serrulate, mucro- 

 nate. Spikes small,' of yellow flowers. Pods somewhat spiral, a form which 

 characterizes the genus. May — Oct. ^ 



2. M. sATiVA. Lmcerne Medkk. 



Ped. racemed; leg. smooth, spirally twisted ; slip, entire; Ifts. oblong, 

 toothed. — 71- A deep-rooting plant, sending up numerous, tall and slender clover- 

 like shoots, with spikes of blue or violet flowers. Native of Europe, where it 

 is highly valued as a forage plant. It has been naturalized and cultivated to 

 some extent with us, but has hitherto proved of less value than clover. July. ^ -^ 

 Z. M. iNTERTEXTA. HcdgB-hog. — Pfi/. about 2-flowered ; feo-. cochlea te, oval, 

 with downy, setaceous, pubescent, reflexed, appressed prickles ; Ifts. rhomboidal, 

 toothed. — (I) Native of S. Europe. Cultivated as a garden flower for the curi- 

 osity of its pods. About a foot in height. FloM-ers yellow. .Tn. — .'^ug. f 



