510 LEGUMINOSAE (PULSE FAMILY) 



13. T. DtBiDM Sibth. Similar to the preceding but smaller throughout, 

 head? loosely few-flowered ; standard 4 mm. long, about 11-nerved, scarcely or 

 not at all striate in age. ( T. procumbens, var. minus Man. ed. 6.) Similar 

 situations, Mass, to Va. and Tenn. ; also locally established westw. (Nat. from 

 En.) 



19. MELIL6TUS [Tourn.] Hill. MELILOT. SWEET CLOVER 



Flowers much as in Trifolium, but in spike-like racemes, small. Corolla de- 

 ciduous, free from the stamen-tube. Pod ovoid, coriaceous, wrinkled, longer 

 than the calyx, scarcely dehiscent, 1-2-seeded. Annual or biennial herbs, fra- 

 grant in drying, with pinnately 3-foliolate leaves. (Name from /*Ai, honey, and 

 XOITOS, some leguminous plant.) 



1. M. OFFICIXALIS (L.) Lam. (YELLOW M.) Upright, usually tall ; leaflets 

 obovate-oblong, obtuse, closely serrate ; petals yellow, of nearly equal length. 6-9 

 mm. long ; pod 2.5-3.5 mm. long, glabrous or glabrate, prominently cross-ribbed. 



Waste or cultivated ground, common. (Nat. from Eu.) 



2. M. ALTI'SSIMA Thuill. Similar ; leaflets linear- to lance-oblong, subentireor 

 remotely toothed; pod gibbous, 4.5-6 mm. long, pubescent, obscurely reticulate. 



Ballast about Atlantic ports. (Adv. from Eu.) 



3. M. fxnicA (L.) All. Low; leaflets cuneate-oblanceolate or -obovate. 

 truncate or emarginate, toothed above the middle; corolla yellow, 2-2.5 mm. 

 long; pod gibbous, about 2 mm. long, alveolate. Ballast and waste places 

 about Atlantic ports. (Adv. from Eurasia.) 



4. M. ALBA Desr. (WHITE M.) Tall ; leaflets narrowly obovate to oblong, 

 serrate, truncate or emarginate ; corolla white, 4-5 mm. long, the standard longer 

 than the other petals ; pod 3-4 mm. long, somewhat reticulate. Rich soil, road- 

 sides, etc., common. (Nat. from Eu.) 



20. MEDICAGO [Tourn.] L. MEDICK 



Flowers nearly as in Melilotus. Pod 1 -several-seeded, scythe-shaped, in- 

 curved, or variously coiled. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate; leaflets toothed; 

 stipules often cut. (Mi/Suo?, the name of the Alfalfa, because it came to the 

 Greeks from Media.) 



* Perennials; pods straightish or loosely coiled, unarmed. 



1. M. SAT!VA L. (LUCERNE, ALFALFA.) Upright, smooth, perennial ; leaf- 

 lets obovate-oblong, toothed ; flowers bluish-purple, racemed ; pods ticistcd. 

 Cultivated for green fodder and often spontaneous. (Introd. from Eu.) 



2. M. FALCATA L. Similar ; leaflets linear ; flowers yellow ; pod straightish 

 or scarcely coiled. Waste ground, eastw., rare and casual; perhaps not 

 persisting. (Adv. from Eu.) 



* * Annuals ; pods (often armed) reniform or tightly coiled. 



3. M. LOPDLINA L. (BLACK M., NONESUCH.) Procumbent, pubescent, 

 annual ; leaflets wedge-obovate, toothed at the apex ; flowers yelloir. in short 

 spikes; pods kidney-form, 1-seeded. Waste places, common. (Adv. from 

 Eu.) 



4. M. ARABICA Huds. (SPOTTED M.) Spreading or procumbent annual, some- 

 what pubescent ; leaflets obcordate, with a purple spot, minutely toothed ; 

 peduncles 3-o-flowered; flowers yellow ; pods compartJi/ spiral, of 2 or 3 turns, 

 compressed, furrowed on the thick edge, and fringed with a double row of 

 curved prickles. (M. maculata Sibth.) Middle Atlantic States to N. B., on 

 waste ground, not common. (Adv. from Eu.) 



5. M. HfspiDA Gaertn. (BrR CLOVER.) Nearly glabrous ; pods deeply re- 

 ticulated, and with a thin keeled edge ; otherwise as the last. (M. denticnl~,ta 

 Willd.) Waste places, frequent; a fodder plant westw. (Introd. from Eu.) 



