124 FOUNDATIONS OF BOTANY 



gi-ay hairs ; leaflets 3, obovate. Flowers rather small, yellow, in 

 somewhat erect racemes. Cultivated in greenhouses. From the 

 Canary Islands. 



XI. MEDICAGO, Toum. 



Annual or perennial herbs ; leaves petioled, of 3 toothed 

 leaflets. Flowers in terminal and axillary spikes or racemes. 

 Calyx 5-toothed, the teeth short and slender. Standard 

 oblong, much longer than the wings or keel. Stamens 10, 

 diadelphous. Ovary sessile. Pod l-several-seeded, coiled, 

 not splitting open, often spiny.* 



1. M. sativa, L. Alfalfa. Perennial; stems erect, branching, 

 downy when young, becoming smooth with age, 2-3 ft. high.' 

 Leaves short-petioled ; leaflets obovate, sharply dentate towards the 

 apex, obtuse or sometimes notched or mucronate ; stipules lanceolate, 

 entire. Flowers blue, small, in rather close spikes ; pods downy, 

 coiled, few-seeded. Introduced from Europe, and cultivated for hay 

 and pasture.* 



2. M. lupulina, L. Black Medick, Nonesuch. An annual or 

 biennial, much branched, reclining herb, with stems from 6-20 in. 

 long. Leaves very short-petioled; leaflets obovate, acute, |-f in. 

 long, toothed near the tip. Flowers small, yellow, in short spikes. 

 Pods very small, 1-seeded, kidney-shaped, black. Roadsides and 

 waste ground, introduced from Europe. 



Xn. MELILOTUS, Toum. 



Annual or biennial herbs. Leaves petioled, of 3 leaflets. 

 Flowers small, white or yellow, in c se axillary and terminal 

 racemes. Calyx 5-toothed, the teetn nearly equal. Standard 

 erect, wings and keel cohering. Stamens 10, diadelphous. 

 Pod longer than the calyx, 1-4-seeded.'* 



1. M. alba, Lam. Melilotus. Biennial; stem erect, branching, 

 smooth or the young branches slightly downy. Leaflets oblong or 

 oblanceolate, rounded or truncate at the apex, serrate ; stipules small. 

 Racemes long, slender, erect. Flowers white. Standard longer than 

 the wings and keel. Pod ovoid, wrinkled, drooping, mostly 1-seeded, 

 scarcely opening. Common as a weed and widely cultivated.* 



2. M. officinalis, Willd. Yellow Sweet Clover. A stout, 

 upright, branching herb, 2-4 ft. high, looking much like the preced- 

 ing species, but coarser. Flowers yellow. Waste ground and road- 

 sides. Introduced from Europe. 



