LEGUMINIFERZ. 31 
SPECIES I.—MELILOTUS ALBA. Lam. 
Pirate CCCXLII. 
Hook. & Arn. Brit. Fl. ed. viii. p. 100. Benth. Handbook Brit. Fl. p. 163. 
Fries, Sum. Veg. Scand. p. 48. Koch, Syn. Fl. Germ. et Helv. ed. ii. p. 183. Gv. & Godr. 
Fl. de Fr. Vol. I. p. 402. 
M. vulgaris, “Willd.” Wallroth, Sched. Crit. p. 393. Bab. Man. Brit. Bot. ed. v. 
p- 76. 
M. leucantha, Koch, ap. D.C. Fl. Fr. Vol. V. p. 564. Hook. in Eng. Bot. Sup. 
No. 2689. 
Trifolium Melilotus officinalis, var. 3, Zinn. Sp. Plant. ed. ii. p. 1078. 
Root slightly thickened and elongated. Stem erect, branched 
throughout. Racemes much elongated, rather lax, especially in 
fruit. Corolla twice the length of the calyx. Standard longer 
than the wings and keel, which are equal. Pod ovoid, slightly nar- 
rowed at the base, shortly apiculate and acuminate at the apex, 
distinctly reticulated with prominent raised veins on the sides, 
which are quite glabrous. 
In waste places, particularly on railway-banks. Not un- 
common, but apparently not permanently established in any of its 
localities. 
[England, Scotland, Ireland.| Biennial. Late Summer and 
Autumn. 
This plant differs from M. officinalis by its more slender root and 
stem, which, however, attains as great a height; by its more slender 
and lax racemes, smaller flowers, which are about 4 inch long, 
and white. The pods are also smaller, § inch long, less distinctly 
stipitate, and less enlarged towards the apex, with a much more 
distinct network of veins on the faces, and destitute of the 
adpressed hairs which more or less thickly clothe those of M. 
officinalis. 
The standard exceeding the corolla and wings, which are of 
equal length, will sufficiently distinguish the flower even in a dried 
state. 
As Willdenow describes his M. vulgaris as having the wings 
longer than the keel, though shorter than the standard, it is most 
probable that his plant belongs to a white variety of the following 
species, 
| White Melilot. 
French, Mélilot Blanc. German, Weisser Steinklee. 
