52 xlvii. § papilionace.2E (baker). [Medicago. 



straight, about \ line long.— E.B.S. t. 2634. A. Rich. Fl. Abyss, i. 

 165. M. apiculata, Willd. I.e. 



Nile Land. Abyssinia, Schimper! Quartin- Dillon and Petit ! 



All the specimens we have seen in fruit belong to the var. apiculata. The species 

 is now widely dispersed as a weed, having reached Japan, the United States, Chili, 

 India, and New Zealand. 



6. M. tentaculata, Willd. ; DC. Prod. ii. 177. A diffuse glabrous 

 annual with stems 12-18 in. long. Stipules deeply toothed along the 

 outer edge. Leaflets obovate-cuneate, 3-43 lines long. Flowers 2-3 

 together, on a peduncle under 1 in. long. Calyx J in. deep, finely 

 silky, the teeth linear. Corolla yellow, half as long again as the calyx. 

 Pod barrel-shaped, with 4—5 spirals, each with a distinct acute keel 

 and a row of short strong spreading spines on each side. — M. tmncatu- 

 lata, Gaertn. Fruct. ii. 150. 



Nile Land. Abyssinia, teste JSchweinfurth. 

 A rare Mediterranean species. 



11. MELILOTUS, Juss. ; Benth. et Hook £ Gen. Plant, i. 487. 



Calyx with a campanulate tube and 5 subequal teeth. Corolla 

 caducous, not adhering to the staminal tube ; standard obovate-oblong ; 

 wings oblong; keel blunt, often shorter than the wings. Stamens 

 diadelphous ; filaments not dilated ; anthers uniform. Ovary sessile or 

 stipitate. Pod subglobose or ovoid, subindehiscent, 1-2-seeded. — An- 

 nuals or biennials with pinnately trifoliola'te leaves with toothed leaf 

 lets and flowers in stalked racemes. 



A moderately small genus, with its head-quarters in Europe. 



Pods a line long, irregularly reticulato-rugose. 



Corolla twice as long as the subsessile calyx 1. M. parviflora. 



Corolla three times as long as the distinctly-stalked calyx . . . 2. 3f. gracilis. 



Pods 2 lines long, marked wirh regular arched bars 3. M. abyssinica. 



1. M. parviflora, Desf. ; D€. Prod. ii. 187. An erect much-branched 

 slender glabrous annual 1-2 ft. high. Petioles 12-18 lines. Leaflets 

 obovate-cuheate, 6-9 lines long, finely toothed. Flowers 12-30 in 

 lax short-stalked axillary racemes. Pedicel scarcely any. Calyx J line 

 deep, the teeth shorter than the tube. Corolla pale yellow, twice the 

 calyx, the standard exceeding the other petals a little. Pod a line 

 long, globose, glabrous, obscurely reticulate-rugose, 1- seeded. — A. 

 Rich. Fl. Abyss, i. 166. ' 



Nile Land. Abyssinia, Quartin- DiUon and Petit! 



Originally a Mediterranean species, now spread over almost the whole world as a 



2. M. gracilis, DC. Prod. ii. 188. An erect much-branched slender 

 glabrous annual a foot or more high. Petioles 3-5 lines. Leaflets ob- 

 lanceolate or obovate, 6-8 lines long, the upper half toothed. Flowers 

 6-12 in lax axillary racemes on peduncles 12-18 lines long. Pedicel 

 nearly as long as the calyx. Calyx half a line deep, teeth lanceolate 



