194 LEGUMINOS^ 



Sinclair, in his work on " British Grasses," mentions this as a valuable 

 addition to the pasturage of a moist meadow. The pods of one species, the 

 Lotus eduUs, are eaten by the poor people of Candia ; and the Lotus rectus, 

 which we see in our greenhouses, and receive from the south of Europe, 

 is by some writers supposed to be the Cytisus of Virgil. The dark- 

 flowered Lotus jacoboius, as well as its yellow variety, are favourite greenhouse 

 flowers, and are in bloom all the year. 



Our pretty flower enlivens not only the rich grass of the green meadow 

 during all the summer months, but adorns also many a sunny slope whose 

 short grass gives a fainter tinge of green to the sward. Charlotte Smith 

 mentions it among the flowers of such a spot on Beachy Head, and her 

 description is so truly graphic, that the mind involuntarily pictures one of 

 the chalky downs surrounded by such scenery : — 



" Let us turn 

 To where a more attractive study courts 

 The wanderer on the hills ; while shepherd girls 

 Will from among the fescue bring him flowers 

 Of wondrous mockery, some resembling bees 

 In velvet vest, intent on their sweet toil ; 

 While others mimic flies, that lightly sport 

 In the green shade, or float along the pool, 

 But here seem perch'd upon the slender stalk, 

 And gathering honey-dew. While in the breeze 

 That wafts the thistle's plumed seeds along. 

 Blue-bells wake trenuilous. The mountain thyme 

 Purples the tussock of the heaving mole, 

 And the soft turf is gay with tormeiitil, 

 And Bird's-foot Trefoil, and the lesser tribe 

 Of hawkweeds, spangling it with fringed stars, 

 Near which a richer tract of cultured land 

 Slopes to the south ; and burnish'd by the sun 

 Bend in the gale of August Hoods of coi'n." 



3. Slender Bird's-foot Trefoil (L. angustissimus). — Heads 1 or 2 

 flowered ; flower-stalks shorter than the leaves ; leaflets broadly lanceolate ; 

 calyx-teeth awl-shaped, straight in the bud ; stems prostrate ; legumes 

 slender, four times the length of calyx. Plant annual. The whole of this 

 plant is covered with soft hairs, and its legumes are generally long, in one 

 variety very long, but in another 'broad and short. It is a rare plant, 

 occurring in Devonshire, Cornwall, and some other counties. Its flowers are 

 much smaller than those of the preceding species, and its whole appearance 

 very difierent from them. 



4. Bristly Bird's-foot Trefoil {L. hispidus). — Similar to the last, but 

 the flower-stalks are longer than the leaves and bear 3 or 4 flowers. The 

 stipules are half heart-shaped, whilst in L. angustissimus they are oval-lance- 

 shaped. The legume is about twice the length of the calyx. It is rare, like 

 the last, and flowers in July and August, on dry banks by the sea from 

 Hampshire to Cornwall and in the Channel Islands only. 



10. Lady's Fingers (AnthylUs). 



Lady's Fingers, or Kidney-vetch (A. mlnerdria). — Herbaceous; 



leaves pinnate ; the terminal leaflet largest ; heads of flowers in pairs ; bracts 



large, digitate, or palmate. Plant perennial. The swollen white calyxes, 



covered with woolly down, are the most conspicuous feature in the blossom 



