74 LEGUMINOSiE. 



3. GENISTA. Lam.— Green Weed. 

 (From the Celtic gen ; signifying a shrub. Hook. Br. Fl.) 



Calyx bilabiate, upper lip bipartite ; lower one 3 -toothed, or 

 5-lobed ; 3 lower lobes united almost to the summit. Standard 

 oblong-oval. Keel oblong, straight. Stamens monadelphous. 

 Legume flat-compressed or rarely somewhat turgid, many- 

 seeded, rarely few-seeded. 



G. tindoria Linn. : stem unarmed, erect ; branches terete, striate ; leaves 

 lanceolate, nearly smooth ; flowers in spiked racemes ; legume smooth. 



Hills. Mass. and N. Y. July. T^. — Stem a foot high, with numerous 

 branches, shrubby. Leaves rather distant. Flowers on the upper part of the 

 branches, nearly sessile, yellow, with a floral leaf at the base- Said to afford a 

 line yellow dye. Introduced from Europe. Dyer's Green Weed. 



i. MEDICAGO. Z,m7i.— Medick. 

 (From the Greek ^itiSlkt] ; because it was introduced into Greece by the Medes.) 

 Calyx subcylindric, 5-cleft. Keel somewhat remote from the 

 standard. Stamens diadelphous. Legume many-seeded, vary- 

 ing in form, always falcate or tAvisted into a spiral. 



1. M. ktpulina Linn. : stem procumbent ; leafets obovate-cuneate, den- 

 ticulate at the apex ; stipules lanceolate, acute, somewhat entire ; flowers 

 in capitate spikes ; legume renifonn, 1-seeded. 



Fields. Throughout the U. S. June — Aug. 0. — Stem 6 — 12 inches Irigh. 

 Flowers small, yellow, crowded. Legume black when ripe. Introduced from 

 Europe. Black Medick or Nonesuch, 



2. M. intertexta Willd. : stem procumbent ; leafets obovate, toothed ; 

 stipules ciliate-toothed ; peduncles somewhat 2-flowered ; legume pilose, 

 cochleate, membranaceous, obliquely reticulate ; spines straight, tliick, 

 rigid and acute. 



Sandy fields. Conn, and Car. July, Aug. (X). — Flowers yellow. Intro- 

 duced from Europe. Hedgehog Medick. 



3. M. sativa Linn. : erect, smooth ; leafets ovate-oblong, toothed above, 

 mucronate ; flowers in oblong racemes ; legume spirally twisted. 



Fields. N. S. June, July. %. — Stem 1 — 2 feet high, erect or oblique. 

 Flowers purple. Pods twisted. A native of Europe, which has been occasion- 

 ally cultivated, and has in some places almost become naturalized. Lucerne. 



5. MELILOTUS. Tour n.—Melilot. 

 (From the Latin mel, honey, and lotus, the genus so called.) 



Calyx 5 -toothed. Standard free, longer than the wings. 

 Keel petals united, free from the stamen-tubes. Legume cori- 

 aceous, globose or ovate, longer than the calyx, scarcely dehis- 

 cent, 1 or few-seeded. 



1. M. officinalis Willd. : stem erect, branching ; leafets lanceolate-ob- 

 long, obtuse, remotely serrate ; spikes axillary, paniculate ; legume 2-secded, 



