302 DIADELPHIA— DECANDRIA. Trifolium. 



7. T. pralense. Common Purple Clover. Honey- 

 suckle Trefoil. 



Spikes dense. Stems ascending. Petals unequal. Calyx 

 hairy ; four of its teeth equal. Stipulas ovate, bristle- 

 pointed. 



T. pratense. Linn. Sp. PL 1082. Willd.v. 3. 1366. Fl. Br. 785. 

 Engl. Bot. V. 25. t. 1 770. Jfzel. in Tr. of Linn. Soc. v. 1 . 240. 

 Mart. Rust. t.3. SincLed. 2. 221. f. Hook. Scot. 218. Matth 

 Valgr. V. 2. 1 89./. Trag. Hist. 586./. Ehrh. PL Of. 408. 



T. n. 377. HalL Hist. v. 1. 163j excluding the reference to Dodo- 

 ncEus. 



T. pratense purpureum. Raii Stjn. 328. Fuchs. Hist. 8\7.f. 



Trifolium. Riv. Tetrap. Irr. L 11./. I. 



/3. T. pratense. Mart. Rust. t. 3. FL Dan. t. 989. 



T. purpureum majus sativum, pratensi simile. Raii Syn. 328. 



y. With a white flower. Jfzel. as above, 243. With. 652. 



S. Trifolium pratense purpureum minus^ foliis cordatis. Dill, in 

 Raii Syn. 328. L 13. f. 1. 



In meadows and pastures, especially on limestone or gravelly hills. 



Perennial. May — September. 



Root branching at the crown j rather tap-shaped and woody be- 

 low, its fibres often bearing minute fleshy granulations. Stems 

 ascending, about afoot high, slightly branched, unequally leafy, 

 roundish ; clothed, in the upper part, with close fine hairs. Leaf- 

 lets elliptical, more or less acute, entire, nearly smooth, with a 

 pale crescent-like spot ; they become by culture larger, more 

 obtuse, and minutely toothed. The upper pair of leaves are 

 mostly opposite, and their footstalks very much shorter than the 

 lower ones. Stipulas ovate, broad, pale, with purple ribs inter- 

 branching near the margin, each stipula suddenly terminating 

 in a bristle-shaped point. Heads terminal, solitary, ovate, ob- 

 tuse, dense, of very numerous, sweet-scented, light purplej^ow;- 

 ers, rarely white. Cal. hairy, with 10 prominent ribs, and 4 

 usually equal, narrow teeth, the fifth, or lowermost, being some- 

 what longer than the rest. Pet. united to each other at the base, 

 as well as to the stamens. Legume roundish, small and thin, 

 with a yellowish seed. 

 One of the most valuable artificial grasses, as they are called, for 

 fodder or hay, being, according to the observations of Mr. Sin- 

 clair, and other accurate inquirers, one of the most nutritious 

 of its tribe. 



8. T. medium. Zigzag Trefoil. 



Spikes lax. Stems zigzag and branching. Petals nearly 



