LOT 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



L U D 



61 



of our climate, and must be treated in the same way as the 

 preceding species. It may be increased by seeds, sown on a 

 bed of light earth in April. 



14. Lotus Dioscorides. Stem upright, branched ; pedun- 

 cles subbiflorous ; legumes columnar, ovate torose. Root 

 annual ; stems a palm and half in height, round ; flowers 

 yellow, small. Native ofthe county of Nice. 



15. Lotus Arboreus ; Tree Bird's-foot Trefoil. Legumes 

 quinate; leaflets obcordate; stem arboreous. Native of New 

 Zealand. 



''* Witn many-ftoivcred Peduncles, forming a head. 



16. Lotus Hirsutus ; Hairy Bird's-foot Trefoil. Heads 

 roundish; stem upright, rough-haired; legumes ovate. Stalk 

 perennial, three feet high ; corollas dirty white, with a few 

 marks of pale red. It flowers from June to August. Native 

 ofthe south of France, Italy, Sicily, and of^the Levant. It 

 is propagated by seeds in the same way as the 12th species : 

 the plants will live through the winter in the open air in mo- 

 derate winters, but it will be proper to keep one or two 

 plants in pots? to be sheltered in winter, lest those abroad 

 should be destroyed by severe frost. 



17. Lotus Graecus ; Five-leaved Bird's-foot Trefoil. 

 Heads roundish ; stem upright, round-haired; leaves quinate; 

 legumes ovate. Annual; flowers white. Native of the Levant. 



18. Lotus Rectus; Upright Bird's-foot Trefoil. Heads 

 subglobular ; stem upright, even ; legumes straight, smooth. 

 Root strong, perennial ; corolla pale flesh-colour. Native of 

 the south of Europe. It may be cultivated for cattle, in the 

 same manner as Lucerne. It rises easily from seeds, is very 

 hardy, and will thrive on any light poor ground. 



19. Lotus Corniculata; Common Bird's-foot Trefoil. 

 Stems prostrate ; heads of flowers flat ; legumes cylindric, 

 spreading. Root perennial, tapering, striking deeply into the 

 earth ; corolla, before it opens, of a bloody red on the out- 

 side, and of a yellowish green within ; when expanded, of a 

 full yellow; leaves ternate, petioled, one at each joint. This 

 is cultivated in Hertfordshire as a pasturage for sheep. It 

 makes extremely good hay ; and in moist meadows grows to 

 a greater height than the Trefoils, and, in quality, seems to 

 equal, if not surpass, most of them. In common with several 

 other leguminous plants, it gives substance to the hay, and 

 perhaps contributes to render it more palatable and whole- 

 some for cattle. It is found in most parts of Europe, in 

 meadows, pastures, heaths, by road sides, in hedges, among 

 bushes, and in woods ; flowering from June to August. 

 Withering calls it Bird's-foot Claver ; in Yorkshire they 

 term it Cheesecake Grass; and in some other counties, Butter- 

 jags, and Crow-toes. Mr. Curtis observes, that, whether this 

 plant be deserving of the encomium bestowed upon it by 

 different authors, the practical farmer must determine. 

 There appears no reason why seed might not be obtained 

 from it; and it should seem that land, not strong enough to 

 bear Clover, might be improved by its introduction. 



20. Lotus Cytisoicles ; Downy Bird's-foot Trefoil. Heads 

 halved ; stem diffused, very much branched ; leaves tomen- 

 tose. This is a perennial plant, sending out many stalks from 

 the root. Native of the south of Europe, on the sea-coast. 

 See the first species. 



21. Lotus Dorycnium; Shrubby Bird's-foot Trefoil. Heads 

 leafless; leaves sessile, quinate. Stalks weak, shrubby, three 

 or four feet high ; flowers in heads, at the extremity of the 

 branches, very small, and white, appearing in June, July, and 

 September. Native of the south of Europe. This will live 

 in the open air, if it be planted in a dry soil, and warm situ- 

 ation. It is propagated by seeds, which will come up in a 

 common border. 



22. Lotus Medicaginoidi'S. Legumes umbelled, bowed ; 

 leaflets obcordate, toothletted. Root annual; stem prostrate, 

 grooved, rough-haired; peduncles axillary, with five or six 

 small yellow flowers. Native of Siberia. 



23. Lotus Oligoceratos. Legumes binate, round, straight, 

 striated, villose, dotted with white. Root annual ; stems from 

 ascending upright, branched, villose, half a foot or more in 

 height; corrrtla~yeHow, not longer than the calix. It flowers 

 at the beginning of July. Native of Italy. 



** Peduncles axillary, uniftorous. 



24. Lotus Sericeus. Leaves subsessile, oblong, acute seri- 

 ceo-villose ; peduncles axillary, uniflorous, longer than the 

 leaf; flower unibracteate, yellow ; lacinise of the calix linear; 

 legume glabrous, very long. Found on the banks of the 

 Missouri. 



Lovage. See Ligiisticum. 



Love-Apple. See Solatium Lycopersicum. 



Lnve-lies-a-bleeding. See Amaranthus Caudatus. 



Louichea ; a genus of the class Monadelphia, order 

 Tetrandria. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Receptacle: common 

 peduncle-shaped, trichotomous, producing the flowers. Peri- 

 carp: proper four-parted; segments concave, subulate-acu- 

 minate, irregular, growing together. Corolla: none. Fila- 

 menta : four, connate, inserted into the receptacle. Germen : 

 superior. Style: bifid. Seed: single, arilled, within the 

 calix. The only known species is, 



1. Louichea Cervina. This is an annual very branching 

 plant, a span high ; stem almost upright, round ; branches in 

 whorls, the upper ones opposite; leaves six, in whorls, the 

 two outer opposite ; flowers terminating, coming out succes- 

 sively, sessile, close ; the middle one solitary, herbaceous, 

 two or three lines broad. SeeCamphorosma. 



Lousewort. See Pedicularis. 



Lucerne. See Medicago. 



Ludwigia; a genus of the class Tetrandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one- 

 leafed, four-parted, superior, permanent, segments lanceo- 

 late, spreading very much, length of the corolla. Corolla : 

 petals four, obcordate, flat, spreading very much, equal. 

 Stamina: filamenta four, awl-shaped, upright, short; antheree 

 simple, oblong, upright. Pistil: germen four-cornered, 

 covered with the base ofthe calix, inferior; style cylindrical, 

 length of the stamina; stigma obsoletely four-cornered, capi- 

 tate. Pericarp : capsule four-cornered, blunt, covered and 

 crowned by the calix, four-celled, four-valved; partitions 

 opposite to the valves. Seeds : numerous, small ; receptacle 

 columnar, membranaceous, four-winged ; wings in the angles 

 of the partitions, seed-bearing on each side. ESSENTIAL 

 CHARACTER. Calix: four-parted, superior. Corolla: four- 

 petalled. Capsule: inferior, four-cornered, four-celled. Re- 

 ceptacle: distinct from the axis ofthe fruit, bearing the seeds 

 on each side. These plants must be raised from seed in a hot- 

 bed, in the spring, and treated as directed for Amarantlnis. 

 If not brought forward in the spring, they seldom produce 

 good seeds in England. The species are, 



1. Ludwigia Alternifolia ; Alternate-leaved Ludwigia. 

 Leaves alternate, lanceolate ; stem upright, annual ; flowers 

 small ; corolla yellow. It flowers in June and July. Native 

 of Virginia and South Carolina. 



2. Ludwigia Oppositifolia; Opposite-leaved Ludwigia. 

 Leaves opposite, lanceolate; stem diffused, procumbent, a 

 span long; flowers solitary, axillary; corolla yellow. Native 

 of the East Indies. 



3. Ludwigia Repens ; Creeping Ludwigia. Leaves oppo- 

 site, ovate; peduncles solitary, axillary; stem creeping. 

 Annual. Native of Jamaica. 



