PULSE FAMILY. Leguminosse. 



6-15 inches high. Common on roadsides and in sandy- 

 fields. Me., south to Va., and west to Iowa. 



Similar in many respects to the forego- 

 Clover OP * ng ' k ut l° wer > more spreading, and the 



Trifolium stems and leaves fine-hairy. The leaflets 



procumbent are shorter and blunt- tipped, the middle 

 Pale golden one slightly stemmed and the lateral ones 



yellow stemless. The stipules (leafy formations 



June-Septem- \ 



b er at the base of the leaf -stalks) are broader 



than those of the preceding species ; they 



are pointed ovate. The tiny standard of the floret is 



wide-spread, and not curled up at the edges as in T. 



agrarium, 3-6 inches high. Occasional or common 



everywhere, especially on roadsides. 



_. „ „ ,., . This is sometimes called yellow sweet 

 Yellow Melilot f 



Mel ih>t us offl- cl <>ver, but its resemblance to clover is in 

 cinalie its character rather than its aspect. It is 



Light golden a foreign flower which has established 



yellow itself in all waste places ("specially in our 



June-August -.V. 1**1 



seaport towns. The three leaflets are long, 



blunt- tipped, and toothed. The light golden yellow 

 flowers are strung along in a delicate spike. The stem is 

 smooth and 2-4 feet high . Melilotus alba is a similar, tall- 

 er, white-flowered species. Both common everywhere. 

 Alfalfa or ^ perennial much cultivated for fodder 



Lucerne in the west and south ; naturalized from 



Medutago sntivn Europe. Found in dry fields and sandy 

 Purple wastes in the East. The three leaflets are 



long and narrow, toothed toward the tip 

 which is obtuse, and furnished with a tiny sharp bristle; 

 each leaflet has a distinct stalk, and that of the middle 

 leaflet is bent upward. The purple florets in short clusters. 

 12-25 inches high. Me., south to Va., and west. 



A generally smooth, tall beautiful peren- 

 Astragahi a nia ^ witn a branching stem , and compound 

 Canadensis leaves of 13-25 or more bluish green, ellip- 

 Greenish tical leaflets set oppositely upon the 



cream yellow s i enf j er leaf-stem, in general appearance 

 u y- ugus j^ e those of the locust tree. The cream 



214 



