KIDNEY-VETCH. 



Atithtjllls vulneraria. Nat. Ord., 

 Legiiminoste. 



-HE genus to which the kidney- 

 vetch belongs is a very small 

 one, and the subject of our 

 illustration is the only 

 British species. What the 

 generic distinctions between 

 this and the birdVfoot 

 trefoil, Lotus coniiculatus, 

 or other well known pea- 

 flowers, may be, would take 

 us into matters too technical 

 for the present pages to 

 properly elucidate, but all 

 may be found duly set forth 

 in the pages of Hooker and 

 Bentham, and other well- 

 known and trustworthy authorities. The kidney- 

 vetch is fairly distributed throughout Britain, 

 and should be sought for on dry pasturage, 

 railway embankments, and such-like high-lying ground. 

 The plant is more especially common in hilly and moun- 

 tainous districts, and may there be looked for amongst 

 the rocks that stand exposed to sun and air. It is a peren- 

 nial, and begins flowering early in June, continuing 



