96 LEGUMINOS^:. [Avnm.i.is. 



contracted. Pod very small, acute, glabrous, reticulated, partially dehiscent. 

 1-seeded. DISTKIB. Europe (Arctic), N. Africa, W. Asia. 

 VAR. 1, Vvlmm'ria proper; involucral leaves short, flowers yellow. V.\ it. _'. 

 Di/le'itii, Schultz (sp.); involucral leaves nearly as long as the red flowers. 



10. LO'TUS, L. BIRD'S-FOOT TKEFOIL. 



Herbs or under-shrubs. Leaves pinnately or palmately 4-5-foliolatc : 

 stipules minute or 0. Flowers in capitate or umlirllatr axillary pedunrlcd 

 cymes, yellow red or white ; bracts 3-foliolate. Calyx 2-lipped, or \vitli 

 5-subequal teeth. Petals free from the staminal tube ; keel incurved or 

 indexed, beaked, gibbous on each side. Alternate ffcuiiatte dilated up- 

 wards, upper free ; anthers uniform. Ovary sessile ; style indexed, 

 flabrous, stigma terminal or lateral ; ovules many. Pod elongate, cylindric, 

 -valved, septate between the seeds. DISTRIB. Europe, N and S. At'ri; a, 

 temp. Asia, America, Australia ; species 50. ETYM. unknown. 



1. I>. cornicula'tus, L. ; decumbent, heads 5-1 0-flowered, peduncles 

 very long, calyx-teeth, erect in bud, 2 upper triangular converging with an 

 obtuse sinus. 



Pastures and waste places, ascending to 2,800 ft. in the Highlands; fl. June- 

 Sept. Variable in habit and stature. Rootstock short, woody, branched, 

 not or scarcely stoloniferous. Stems 4-16 in. , tufted at the base. / - 

 very shortly petioled ; leaflets ^-| in.; stipules ovate or lanceolate. lli<ls 

 -1^ in. diam., depressed. Flowers ^-j| in., very shortly pedicelled. I'<tl.* 

 twice as long as the calyx, bright yellow, often streaked with crimson ; 

 often greenish or purple-brown when dry. Pod ^-lin. DISTRIB. Europe 

 (Arctic), N. Africa, Siberia, W. Asia to India. 



Sub-sp. CORNICULA'TUS proper ; stem short, leaflets obovate obtuse or sub- 

 acute. VAR. 1, mdgarig ; almost glabrous, leaflets membranous. YAK. '_', 

 cras&ifo'lius ; almost glabrous, leaflets fleshy. Chiefly maritime. V.\it. 3, 

 villo'svs ; covered with spreading hairs. Higham in Kent, Budleigh Salter- 

 ton and Sandgate. 



Sub-sp. TKX'UIS, Kitaibel (sp.) ; stem filiform, leaflets generally linear-lanceo- 

 late acuminate, stipules narrower, flowers fewer and smaller. L. l,i,,<l- 

 fo'liia, Reich.; L. decum'bens, Forst. Damp soils, not common, from the 

 Lowlands southwards ; very rare in Ireland. 



2. Ii. major, Scop. ; erect or ascending, heads 5-12-fiowered, peduncles 

 very long, calyx-teeth spreading in bud, 2 upper triangular diverging 

 with an acute sinus. 



Moist meadows, &c. from Isla and Banff southwards, ascending to 1,200 ft. in 

 Yorkshire ; fl. July-Aug. Perennial, glabrous or hairy. Jtootxtwk elongate, 

 stoloniferous, branched at intervals. Stems &-24 in. Leajlett -J-l in., 

 obliquely obovate. Flower and pods much as in L. wniculatus, except in 

 the calyx. DISTRIB. Europe, N. Africa. 



3. Ii. angnstis simus, L. ; prostrate or ascending, heads 1-4-flowered, 

 peduncles 2-3 times as long as the leaves, calyx-teeth erect in bud all 

 subulate. 



Dry grassy banks, very rare ; Castle Rock, Hastings ; Stokes Bay, and marshes 

 on the S. coast ; Channel Is.: fl. June-Aug. Annual ; much smaller than 

 either of the preceding, with shorter peduncles, fewer flowers; calyx- 



