692 



TRI 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



TRI 



into a hot-bed. When the plants are fit to remove, put 

 each into a small pot rilled with light earth ; plunge the pots 

 into the tan-pit; shading them from the sun till they have 

 taken new root, and then treating them in the same way as 

 other tender plants from the West Indies, placing them in 

 autumn in the bark-stove, where they should constantly 

 remain. As it rarely perfects seeds here, it may be increased 

 by planting pieces of the stalks, which put forth roots at the 

 joints. 



Trientalis ; a genus of the class Heptandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth seven- 

 leaved ; leaflets lanceolate, acuminate, spreading, permanent. 

 Corolla: stellate, flat, one-petalled, equal, seven-parted, very 

 slightly cohering at the base; segments ovate-lanceolate. 

 Stamina: filamenta seven, capillary, inserted into the claws 

 of the corolla, patulous, length of the calix ; antherse simple, 

 recurved. Pistil: germen globular ; style filiform, length of 

 the stamina; stigma headed. Pericarp: berry capsular, 

 juiceless, globular, one-celled, covered with a very thin 

 crust, opening by various sutures. Seeds: some, angular; 

 receptacle very large, hollowed out for the seeds. ESSEN- 

 TIAL CHARACTER. Calix: seven-leaved. Corolla: seven- 

 parted, equal, flat. Berry : juiceless. The species are, 



1. Trientalis Europsea; Chickweed Winter-green. Leaves 

 clustered, spreading, lanceolate, quite entire, smooth, veined; 

 peduncles terminating, aggregate, one-flowered, spreading; 

 flowers snow-white, very elegant. " Root perennial ; stem 

 solitary, simple, erect, four or five inches high, almost naked, 

 except at the top. Native of the northern parts of Europe, 

 of Canada, and Siberia, in woods on the side of mountains, 

 and upon turfy heaths. 



2. Trientalis Americana. Leaves narrow, lanceolate, 

 acuminate, oblique ; flowers white. Grows in cedar-swamps 

 and other sphagnous places on high mountains, from Canada 

 to Virginia. This delicate little plant, Pursh observes, dif- 

 fers considerably from the European sort. Michaux and 

 Nuttall consider it to be the same, the latter of whom deno- 

 minates it a variety of Trientalis Europsea. 



Trifolium ; a genus of the class Diadelphia, order Decan- 

 dria. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one-leafed, 

 tubular, five-toothed, permanent. Corolla : papilionaceous, 

 commonly permanent, shrivelling; banner reflected; wings 

 shorter than the banner; keel one-petalled, shorter than the 

 wings. Stamina: filamenta diadelphous, simple, and nine- 

 cleft; antherce simple, roundish. Pistil: germen subovate; 

 style awl-shaped, ascending; stigma simple, smooth. Peri- 

 carp : legume scarcely longer than the calix, one-valved, not 

 opening, deciduous. Seeds: very few, roundish. ESSEN- 

 TI ( AL CHARACTER. Calix: tubular, five-cleft, Keel: sim- 

 ple, shorter than the wings and banner. Stigma: smooth. 

 Legume: scarcely longer than the calix, not opening, deci- 

 duous. The species are, 



* Melilots. Legumes naked, many-seeded. 



1. Trifolium Cosruleum ; Blue Melilot Trefoil. Racemes 

 ovate; legumes half naked, mucronate ; stem erect; spikes 

 oblong. Root annual, fibrous ; stem two or three feet high, 

 smooth, angular, leafy, scarcely branched. Leaves ternate, 

 with ovate leaflets, slightly serrate, standing upon pretty long 

 footstalks : the flowers are collected in oblong spikes, which 

 stand upon very long stalks, springing from them at every 

 joint of the stalk the whole length of it; they are of a pale 

 blue colour, and shaped like those of the Common Melilot: 

 they appear in June and July, and the seeds ripen at the 

 beginning of September. The whole plant has a very strong 

 scent, like that of Fenugreek, and perishes soon after the 

 seed becomes ripe. Native of Germany, in dry barren ground. 



If the seeds of this and the seven following species, which 

 are annual plants, be permitted to scatter, they will rise with- 

 out care, and require no other culture but to be kept clean 

 from weeds, and to be thinned where they grow too close. 



2. Trifolium Indicum ; Indian Melilot Trefoil. Clusters 

 cylindrical ; legumes racemed, naked, one-seeded ; stem 

 erect. This has the appearance of the first species, but is 

 more slender, only two feet high, and upright; branches 

 from the axils shorter; flowers white or yellow, but so small 

 that their parts can scarcely be distinguished by the naked 

 eye. There are several varieties, which can hardly be dis- 

 tinguished. Native of the East Indies, China, Africa, and 

 Italy. 



3. Trifolium Massanense ; Sicilian Melilot Trefoil. Le- 

 gumes racemed, naked, one-seeded, low, striated, semiovate, 

 acute ; steins decumbent; peduncles axillary, shorter than the 

 leaf; flowers small, yellow; raceme headed. Native of Sicily. 

 Italy, and Barbaiy. 



4. Trifolium Polonicum ; Polish Melilot Trefoil. Legumes 

 racemed, naked, two-seeded, lanceolate ; stem erect. This 

 differs from the next species, in having the stalk altogether 

 round ; the leaves smaller, acuminate, acutely serrate at top; 

 the flowers in the raceme remote, and on longer pedicels ; 

 the peduncles round, not grooved ; the banners of the flowers 

 folded back, with the wings not outwardly and longitudinally 

 converging at their edges, but obliquely divaricating; the 

 legumes two-seeded, little wrinkled, lanceolate, acuminate, 

 longer. The stature and smell are the same ; the flowers 

 are of a pale yellow colour. It flowers here from June to 

 August. Native of Poland. 



5. Trifolium Officinale; Common Melilot Trefoil. Le- 

 gumes racemed, naked, two-seeded, wrinkled, acute; stem 

 erect. Root annual, strong, woody; stem branched, two or 

 three feet high, angular and furrowed; leaves ternate, peti- 

 oled, alternate; leaflets smooth, lanceolate, obovate, or the 

 lower ones oblong, wedge-shaped, the upper elliptical ; they 

 vary indeed much in form, and are commonly serrate, but 

 sometimes nearly entire: flowers small, drooping, varying in 

 colour, but with us almost always of a golden colour : they 

 grow in long, peduncled, axillary spikes, very close together, 

 on short capillary pedicels, each having a small awl-shaped 

 bracte. There cannot be a worse weed than this among 

 bread-corn, for a few of the seeds ground with it spoil the 

 flour, by communicating their peculiarly strong taste. Not- 

 withstanding its strong smell and bitter acrid taste, it does 

 not appear to be disagreeable to any cattle, and horses are 

 said to be extremely partial to it. Bees are very fond of the 

 flowers. The whole plant has a peculiar scent, which become* 

 more fragrant in a dry state, then having some resemblance 

 to that of Anthoxanthum. The flowers are sweet; a water 

 distilled fjom them possesses little odour in itself, but im- 

 proves the flavour of other substances. In medicine it was 

 esteemed emollient and digestive, and was used in fomen- 

 tations and cataplasms, particularly in blister-plasters ? but 

 is now laid aside, as being rather acrid and irritating than 

 emollient. It grows wild in most parts of Europe, in corn- 

 fields, pastures, and by way-sides. The White Siberian Me- 

 lilot, which Linneus considered as a variety of this species, 

 has been recommended by some French writers as food for 

 cattle. It grows in Siberia, in deep dry light land, and rises 

 from three to nine feet in winter, but shoots again early in 

 spring, and lasts from two or three to six years. It begins 

 to flower about the middle of June, and is in full bloom by 

 the middle of July. The stems and leaves are twice as large 

 as those of the common sort, though the flowers, which are 

 constantly white, are but half the size. It has been sown for 



