132 



LEGUMINOS.E 



* A7i?iuals : leaflets feiv : flowers few : style with a 

 ring of down (Tares) 



1. V. hersiita (Hairy Tare). — A slender, much-branched, hairy 

 plant, forming tangled masses of stems and leaves; leaflets 12 — 

 16 ; flowers 1 — 6 together, minute, pale blue; pods sessile, hairy, 

 2-seeded. — Fields and hedges ; very common. This, though a 

 mischievous weed, is not the Tare of Holy Scripture, which is 

 supposed to be the Darnel {Lblium te?nulentuni). — Fl. May — 

 August. Annual. 



2. V. ietrasperma (Smooth Tare). — More slender, less branched, 

 almost glabrous; leaflets 6 — 12 -, flowers i — 2 together, minute, 

 pale blue ; pods shortly stalked, glabrous, 3 — 5-seeded. — In 



vieiA HiRS^TA {Hairy Tare). 



similir situations with the last, but less common. — Fl. May — 

 August. Annual. 



3. V. gracilis (S'ender Tare), a closely-allied form, with 6 — 8 

 leaflets ; flowers twice as large, i — 4 together and pods longer, 

 5 — 8-seeded, occurs in the south of England. — Fl. May — 

 August. Annual. 



** Perennials : leaflets many : flowers very 7nany : style 

 with a ring of hairs 



4. V. Crdcca (Tufted Vetch). — Leaflets about 20, narrow, 

 pointed, silky, with branched tendrils ; stipules half-arrow-shaped, 

 entire ; flowers crowded in i-sided, 10 — 30-flowered racemes, blue 

 and purple. — Bushy places ; very common. One of the most 

 ornamental of British plants, adorning the tops of the hedges with 

 its bright flowers. — Fl. June — August. Perennial. 



5 V. Orolms (Bitter Vetch).— A branched, herbaceous plant, 

 with many prostrate stems; leaflets 14—20, oblong, acute, with- 



