HOP TREFOIL 29 



frequent associate of species that delight in the more or less undis- 

 turbed security and protection of the railway banks, which are now 

 so general a feature of most, districts. 



Likewise it frequents natural banks and slopes, being accustomed 

 to dry conditions, and is largely a dry-soil lover. 



Photo. Flatters & Garnett 



HOP TREFOIL (Trifolium procumbens, L.) 



The specific name suggests the trailing habit of most of the stems, 

 the principal one being erect, slender, the leaflets blunt at the tip, the 

 leaves with lobes each side of a stalk, the leaflets in threes, and the 

 stems are also slightly downy. 



The flowerheads are round, large, in oval spikes, with overlapping 

 florets, having a hop-like appearance (hence the name). When the 

 flowers are withered the standard yellow, like the rest of the flowers, 

 is arching but does not fold over the pods. It is bent down, does not 



