BIRD'S-FOOT 147 



Bird's-foot is at most about 3 in. high. Flowers may be seen in 

 May up till August. The plant is perennial. 



The type of flower is like the general Leguminous flower, but is 

 very small, and the plant is prostrate, so that insect visits are restricted 

 to smaller insects. The upper stamens are free. The stigma is pin- 

 headed, with an inbent style, while the keel is very short, so that 

 self-pollination is more frequent or possible. There is moreover no 

 honey. 



As in Lotiis the pod, a schizocarp, breaks up into single joints of 

 i cell each, and the seeds are thus dispersed separately around the 



. Dr. Somerville Hastings 



BIRD'S-FOOT (Ornithopus perpusillus, L.) 



plant, or blown by the wind when half-loose. They are also liable to 

 be fractured by animals underfoot. 



The Bird's-foot requires a sand soil, and is a sand -loving plant. 

 It also favours barren and stony ground, and can be found on many of 

 the older Precambrian, schistose, and granitic formations. 



No fungi or insects infest this plant. 



Ornithopus, Gesner, from the Greek ornis, bird, pous, foot, is so 

 named from the similarity of the fruits to a bird's foot, and the second 

 name refers to its diminutive character. The plant goes by two 

 names, Bird's-foot, Fowl-foot. 



ESSENTIAL SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: 



86. Ornithopus perpusillus, L. Stem decumbent, spreading, leaves 



