156 



BRITISH FLORA 



calyx is clcciJtious above the base, willi sharp, 

 long teeth. The pod is hairless. The plant is 

 1-2 It. liijch, flowering from July to September, 

 and is a perennial shrub. 



Hairy Dyer's Greenweed (Genista pilosa, L.). 

 — This is an ericetal species, found on gravelly 

 heaths or dry s.indy heaths. The habit is pros- 

 trate, then ascending. The plant is not armed 

 with spines, but covered with silky hair (hence 

 pilosa). The stem is woody, branched, spreading, 

 curved, furrowed, wavy. The leaves are i-foliatc, 

 the leaflets inversely ovate to lance-shaped, blunt, 

 shortly-stalked. The stipules are blunt and ovate. 

 The flowers are in short, leafy racemes, yellow, 

 and the flower-stalks are lateral, with a tuft of 

 leaves. The calyx has 2 upper lance-shaped lobes, 

 the 3 lower being awl-like. The keel and standard 

 are downy. The pod is hairy, flat, at length fall- 

 ing. The plant is 6-12 in. in height, flowering 

 between May and September. It is a perennial 

 shrub. 



Needle Furze (Genista anglica, L.). — This is a 

 native species, and ericetal, growing on heaths 

 and moist moors or moist peaty heaths. The 

 habit is that of a shrub. The plant is ascending, 

 however, not prostrate, as in the last, and a 

 further diff'erence is the spinous stem (hence 

 Needle Furze). The stem is smooth, not hairj', 

 with slender, spreading, curved branches, leafless 

 below, the flowering branches having no thorns, 

 and smooth. The spines are slender, simple, 

 bent-back. The leaflets are ovate to lance-shaped. 

 There are no stipules, or only obsolete ones. The 

 flowers are in a short, leafy raceme, solitary, 

 yellow, on short stalks, in the axils of the leaflets. 

 The corolla is smooth. The keel is longer than 

 the standard. The calj'X is persistent, with short, 

 triangular teeth. The pod is inflated, with a 

 short point at each end, deciduous. The plant is 

 1-2 ft. in height, flowering in May and June, and 

 is a perennial shrub. 



Western Furze {Ulex Gallii, Planch.). — The 

 habitat of this plant is heaths and downs in the 

 West. The plant has the shrub habit. The stem 

 is hairy, w^ith spreading branches. The young 

 leaves are smooth, fringed with hairs, and fur- 

 rowed. The primary spines are strong and smooth, 

 bent -down, rigid, half-round in section. The 

 flowers are orange-yellow, lateral and terminal, 

 with small bracts pressed to the stem. The calyx 

 is finely downy, with spreading teeth. The corolla 

 has the petals more or less spreading. The wings 

 are not straight. The pods burst open. The plant 

 is 1-5 ft. in height, flowering between July and 

 November, and is a perennial shrub. 



Small Furze (Ulex nanus, Forster= i7. minor. 

 Roth). — The habitat of this species is heaths and 

 commons in the S. and E. of England. The plant 

 has the shrub habit, resembling U. europceus, but 

 smaller. The stem is prostrate, then ascending, 

 hairy. The primary spines are short, slender, 

 round in section, fineU' furrowed, smooth, spread- 

 ing, branched below. The flowers are in a raceme, 

 yellow, half as large as in the Common Furze, 

 with very small bracts, and are borne in the axils 



of primary spines, which are longer. The calyx 

 is finely downy, the hairs appressed, the teeth 

 spreading, lance-shaped. The petals are hardly 

 distinct <it length, the wing not so long as, or 

 shorter than, the keel. The pod is persistent, till 

 the next season. The plant is 1-3 ft. in height. 

 It flowers between July and November. It is a 

 perennial shrub. 



Fenugreek (Tri^onella ornithopodioides, L.). — 

 The habitat of this plant is sandy heaths, dry 

 gravelly places, .sandy pastures. The habit is 

 prostrate. The stem is without hairs, with slender 

 branches from the base. The leaflets are inversely 

 heart-shaped, toothed, with prominent veins. The 

 leaf-stalk is short. There are large ovate stipules, 

 with a long narrow point. The flowers are soli- 

 tary, or in small heads or clusters of 3 flowers, in 

 the axils, shortly-stalked, pink or white. The 

 calyx is smooth, with slender, acute teeth, erect, 

 and subequal. The petals are distinct, the keel 

 about as long as the wings. The pods are flat- 

 tened, curved, linear to oblong, blunt, with trans- 

 verse furrows, hairy, exceeding the calyx, and 

 open by 2 valves. There are 6-8 seeds. The 

 plant is 2-8 in. in height, flowering in June and 

 July, and is a herbaceous annual or biennial. 



Medicago sylvestris. Fries. — The habitat of this 

 plant is sandy and gravelly places, heaths, dry 

 banks, waste places. The plant is rare. The 

 habit is ascending. The stem is more or less 

 square in section, pithy. The leaves are trifoliate, 

 the leaflets inversely ovate to oblong, toothed, 

 notched, with a blunt point. The flowers are 

 large, yellow or blackish -green with darker 

 streaks, and change to green. The pods form 

 a complete flat ring, the stalks being shorter 

 than the calyx, and longer than the bract. The 

 plant is 6 in. to 2 ft. high, flowering in June and 

 July, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Sickle Medick (Medicago falcata, L.). — The 

 habitat of this plant is sandy, gravelly places, 

 gravel banks, dry banks, w-aste sandy places, 

 heaths. The habit is erect or prostrate. The 

 stem is usually round, nearly solid, branched. 

 The leaflets are narrowlj- linear, inversely egg- 

 shaped to oblong, toothed, notched, blunt-poinlcd. 

 The stipules are large and awl-like. The flowers 

 are large and yellow, in narrow racemes, on short 

 stalks, which are shorter than the calyx, longer 

 than the bracts. The pods are linear, with flat- 

 tened margins, straightly sickle -like (hence fal- 

 cata), twisted, downy. The plant is 6 in. to 2 ft. 

 high, flowering in June and July, and is a herb- 

 aceous perennial. 



Toothed Bur Medick (Medicago denticulala. 

 Wind.). — The habitat of this plant is sandy ground 

 near the sea and waste places. The habit is 

 prostrate. The plant is nearly smooth, slightly 

 glandular. The stems are furrowed. The leaves 

 are trifoliate, the leaflets inversely heart-shaped. 

 The stipules are laciniate. The flowers are yellow, 

 in umbels on very short stalks with 1-5 flowers. 

 The pods are flat, deeply netted, loosely coiled 

 two to three times, with a thin edge, with a double 

 row of long spines, which are awl-like, equal to or 



