;io ilc)\\i:ks c)1' Tin-: ina.ns and mi-:ai)o\vs 



fiill, ami is fuiidwccl. 1 lu: lluwcrs aw slalkcil, the .sl\ le is less than 

 the pod, ilic kaf-like origans on the leafstalks are ,[,-ovate, acute, 

 ami the seetls are oval. 



The stems are rarely iS in. loni;', and nsiiallv i k., and on the 

 coast ahoul (:> in. hi^h, with larger Jlowers. The llowcrs are in hlooni 

 in Jime and July. The plant is annual. 



The flowers are large and conspicuous, and are \isitetl hy bees, 

 .!/>/.< iiicllifua, ilalictns flavif>cs. The tube is not so long as in 

 Rcil Clover, the flowers numerous and dcmse. The standard is broad, 

 and arches over the centre, and the style is hooked. The short calyx 

 allows the other parts of the flower to return to position after an insect 

 visit. 



The pod is a i -seeded fruit, not splitting into many f)arts, egg'- 

 shaped, and when ri[)e it falls off or is broken off. It is therefore 

 dispersed by its own agency. 



Hop Trefoil is addicted to a sand soil. Like Hare's I'oot Trefoil, 

 it also grows on tin- more ancient rock formations on ston\' barren 

 ground. 



It is a food plant for a beetle, .Ipion pisi, and a moth, Aulhoccra 

 trifolii. 



The second Latin name refers to its procmnbent or trailing habit. 

 It is called Hop or Yellow Clover, and Hop Trefoil. From the hop- 

 like shape of the flowers it is called Hop Trefoil. Not so valuable 

 as Red or White Clover, it is an annual. It often covers barren 

 ground where nothing else will grow. 



Es.sEXTi.\i- Specific Chak.\cters: — 



82. Trifoliuni prociuiibcns, L. — Stem erect, branches procumbent, 

 leaflets obovate, central petiole longest, stipules ovate, flowers yellow, 

 in dense, rounil, hop -like heads, forty flowers, standard dilated not 

 folded. 



Bird's Foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus. L.) 



This plant, which is known onlv, as regards its distribution, as a 

 member of the flora of the North Temperate Zone to-day, is a native 

 of Plurope, N. Africa, N. and W. .Asia. In Great Britain it is found 

 in e\'ery part, as far north as the .Shetlands, growing at a height of 

 2800 ft. in the Highlands. It is found in Ireland and the Channel 

 Islands. 



The common Tiird's Toot Trefoil forms clumps and patches of 

 golden colour in the meadows from June till late in the summer. 

 There it is associated with Yellow Rattle, the Daisy, the 0.\-eye 



