MEADOWS, FIELDS AND PASTURES— SPBINO 113 



folium), all distinguished by trifoliate, compound leaves, so familiar 

 to us in the clovers ; and stipules which adhere to the leafstalks. 

 Their flowers are in dense clusters, and each one has a five-toothed 

 calyx, and an irregular corolla of narrow petals which usually 

 remains, in a withered condition, around the ripening pod. There 

 are ten stamens, the upper one free, while the remaining nine, 

 united by their filaments, form a spUt tube round the ovary. The 

 pod sometimes contains only one seed, and never more than four. 



The Subterranean Ti'efoil {T. subterraneum), which is abundant 

 on the diy pastures of South England, is characterised by a stem, 

 from six to eighteen inches long, which is underground for the 

 greater part. The visible portion of the plant is small, and more 

 or less covered with long, spreading hairs. The leaves are on long 

 stalks, with obovate leaflets, and broad stipules. The flowers 

 vary in colour from white to pink or crimson, and are usually in 

 hairy clusters of from two to four. As the fruit ripens, the peduncle 

 lengthens and bends downward. At the same time the calyx turns 

 back on the stalk, exposing short fibres, each with five spreading 

 teeth which fold over the fruit. The flowers appear during May 

 and June. 



The Dutch Clover or White Clover (T. re pens) is one of the most 

 famihar of the Trefoils. It is very abundant in English pastures, 

 and has been introduced into Ireland, where it is now often selected 

 as the national emblem in the place of the Wood Sorrel (p. 52), which 

 is regarded by many as the original ' true Shamrock.' The whole 

 plant is smooth or slightly hairy; and its creeping stem, from two 

 to twenty inches in length, sends down root-fibres from its nodes. 

 The leaves have long stalks, with stipules at the base ; and the 

 leaflets are broadly oval or obovate, finely toothed, and have 

 usually a lighter, crescent-shaped mark near the middle. The 

 flower-stalks are long, growing from the axils of the leaves ; and 

 each one bears a globular head of white or pinkish flowers. The 

 plant flowers from April to the end of the summer. 



A very similar species — T. hyhridum — has been introduced 

 into our country, and has now become estabhshed in many places 

 where it was formerly cultivated. Its stipules are larger than those 

 of the Dutch Clover ; the pod contains only two seeds ; and the 

 flowers are usually pinkish. 



The Common Pm-ple Clover [T. pratense) is also largel}^ cultivated 

 for fodder, but it is indigenous, and grows abundantly in most 

 parts as a wild plant. It is very similar to the Dutch Clover in 



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