228 XLVI LEGUMINOS2. Mepicaco. 
less pubescent, striate, 3—10’ long, often suberect. Leaflets 4—8 long, 3— 
equally as wide, lateral ones placed 1—2” below the terminal one, petiole 3— 
1}’ long. Heads about 20-flowered, 2—3” diam., on slender peduncles 4—1}! 
long. Flowers at length reflexed. Jn. Jl.§ . 
9. T. acrarium. F%eld or Hop Trefoil. Yellow Clover. 
St. ascending or erect; Ifts. obovate-oblong, or oblong-cuneate, denticu- 
late, all subsessile; stzp. linear-lanceolate, cohering with and longer than the 
petiole; Ads. ovoid-elliptic, on long peduncles; 2 wpper cal. segments shorter ; 
cor. yellow ; sty. about equaling the 1-seeded legume.—q@) Sandy fields, N: Eng ! 
Stems 6—15’ high, branched, minutely pubescent. Leaflets 5—10” by 1—3”. 
Common petiole 3—10” long, the upper ones shorter than their stipules. Heads 
of flowers twice larger than in the last, on peduncles 4 14’ long. Flowers at 
length reflexed. Jl. Aug. § 
19. MELILOTUS. Tourn. 
Lat. mel, honey, and lotus ; in drying it exhales a sweet odor. 
Calyx tubular, 5-toothed, persistent; corolla deciduous, keel pe- 
tals completely united, shorter than the alz or vexillum; stamens 
diadelphous (9 and 1); legume rugose, longer than calyx, 1—few- 
seeded.— Genus taken from Trifolium. Lvs. pinnately trifoliate, veins 
of the leaflets simple or forked. Fils. in racemes. 
1. M. orricinauis. Willd. (M. vulgaris. Ea.) Yellow Melilot. 
St. erect, with spreading branches ; /fts. obovate-oblong, obtuse, dentate ; 
rac. spicate, axillary, paniculate, loose; cal. half as long as the yellow corolla ; 
leg. 2-seeded, ovoid.— Alluvial meadows. Stem sulcate, about 3f high. Leaf- 
lets smooth, with remote, mucronate teeth. Flowers in long, 1-sided, slender 
racemes. Petals of nearly equal length. The whole plant is sweet-scented. Jn. 
2. M. veucantua. Koch. (Trifolium officinale, 8. Linn. M. officinalis, 
B. alba, Nutt. and of 1st. edit.) White Melilot. Sweet-scented Clover. 
St. erect, branched; /fts. ovate-oblong, truncate and mucronate at the 
apex, remotely serrate; s/ip. setaceous; cal. less than half as long as the white 
corolla ; leg. 2-seeded, ovoid.—@) Alluvial soils. Stem robust, very branching, 
sulcate, 4—6f high. Leaflets 1—2’ long, more obtuse at the apex than at base, 
mucronately serrate. Flowers numerous, the racemes more loose and longer 
than in the last. Petals unequal, banner longer than wings or keel. Very fra- 
grant when dried. Jl. Aug.§t 
20. MEDICAGO. 
Name derived from Medea, its native country ? 
Calyx 5-cleft, subcylindric ; keel of the corolla deflexed from the 
vexillum by the falcate or spirally coiled legume.—Herbs with pal- 
mately trifoliate leaves. 
1. M. tuputina. None-such. 
Spikes ovate; leg. reniform, 1-seeded, veiny, rugose ; sts. procumbent.— 
@ Common in fields and road-sides, Can. to Flor. Stems angular, leafy, 6—16’ 
long. Leaves resembling those of clover. Leaflets obovate, serrulate, mucro- 
nate. Spikes small, of yellow flowers. Pods somewhat spiral, a form which 
characterizes the genus. May—Oct. § 
2. M. sativa. Lucerne Medick. 
Ped. racemed; leg. smooth, spirally twisted; stip. entire; /fts. oblong, 
toothed.— 2. A deep-rooting plant, sending up numerous, tall and slender clover- 
like shoots, with spikes of blue or violet flowers. Native of Europe. where it 
is highly valued as a forage plant. It has been naturalized and cultivated to 
some extent with us, but has hitherto proved of less value than clover. July. §+ 
3. M. inrerTexta. Hedge-hog.—Ped. about 2-flowered ; leg. cochleate, oval, 
with downy, setaceous, pubescent, reflexed, appressed prickles; /fts. rhomboidal, 
toothed.—() Native of S. Europe. Cultivated as a garden flower for the curi- 
osity of its pods. About a foot in height. Flowers yellow. Jn.—Aug. f 
