-8 I'l.OWl'.RS Ol' THK I-IKI.DS AM) MKADOWS 



Thf sccoml l.atin n:imc n-tcrs to iis cr(.-c[)in}4- h;il)il. It is called 

 HhxxKvort, Claver. Cluvcr, Duich or White Clover, Curl-docldie, 

 I'oiirlcaved Grass. Sheep's Gowan, Purple Grass, Honeystalks, Honey- 

 suckle Clover, White Honeysuckle, Lamb's Sucklinu;s, Purple-wort, 

 Ouillet, Sucklers. Phc nann; Purple Grass is given to a cultivated 

 form with dark-brown purple foliage. 



Parkinson says of this; 



The purple grasse s[)rLM(k-tli mi llic grduiul. 



"The leaves are in some three, in others foure or fne, on a sialke 

 of a sad grcene colour, with a shadow of darke purple cast over them, 

 the flowers are white; 1 never saw this but in gardens where women 

 keepe it with confidence to be good for the purples in children or 

 others," This is a good instance of the absurd "doctrine of signa- 

 tures " then in force. 



"Honeystalks" are clover flowers "which contain a sweet juice ". 

 Cattle sometimes overcharge themselves with clover and die. 



Words more sweet, and yel more dangerous, 

 Than baits to lisli, or honeystalks to sheep. 



Shakespeark. Titus Aiiihoitwus. 



Lambs were fed on clover, hence the name Lamb's .Suckling.s. 

 As a fodder plant it is valuable, and it spreads and roots widely, being 

 permanent, unlike the Red Clover. A square yard is quickly covered 

 bv a plant in one year. The seeds have been used in times of famine 

 for making bread. The hive bee seeks its honey from this clover. 



ESSKNTIAI, .SrECIlIC ClIAK.\CTERS: 



Si. Tri folium rcpciis, L. — .Stems creeping, leaflets obovate, serrate, 

 flowers white, in round heads, fruit-stalks defle.xed after flowering, 

 peduncles a.xillary, longer than the leaves, legumes 4-seeded. 



Hop Trefoil ( Prifolium procumbens, L.) 



The present range of Hop Trefoil — for this is only known in the 

 present-day flora — is the North Temperate Zone of Europe, North 

 Africa, North and West Asia, and it is also an introduction in North 

 America. In Great P)ritain it is unknown in Monmouth, South-east 

 York. Main Argyle, Hebrides, Orkneys, elsewhere it grows from 

 Ross southwards, ascending to 1200 ft. in Derbyshire, Ireland, and 

 the Channel Islands. 



The Hop Trefoil, while commonly a meadow plant, is also a 



