94 LEGUMINOSJE. [Trigonella. 



5. TRlGONEL'liA, L. Fenugreek. 



Herbs, often strongly scented. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate ; nerves 

 terminating in teeth ; stipules adnate to the petiole. Flowers solitary, 

 capitate, or in dense racemes, white, yellow, or blue. Calyx tubular, teeth 

 subequal. Petals very persistent ; wings longer than the keel, the claws 

 of both free from the staminal tube. Filaments not dilated, upper distinct 

 or nearly so ; anthers uniform. Style glabrous, stigma terminal ; ovules 

 many. Pod various in form, dehiscent in the British species, longer than 

 the calyx. — DrsTRiB. Europe, temp. Asia, N. and S. Africa, Australia ; 

 species 50.— Etym. The old Greek name. 



T. ornithopodioi'des, DC. ; glabrous, prostrate, very slender, leaflets 

 obcordate, keel nearlv as long as the wings. Trifolium, L. Falcatula, 

 Brot. Aporan'thus Trifolias'trum, Bromfield. 



Sandy heaths and gravelly places, local, from Fife and Renfrew southd. ; F. 

 Ireland, very rare ; Channel Islands ; fl. June- Aug. — Annual or biennial, 

 branching from the base; branches 2-8^ in., slender. Leaflets §-# in., 

 toothed, strongly nerved; petiole £-1 in.; stipules large, ovate, long- 

 acuminate. Peduncles solitary, shorter than the petioles, axillary, 1-3- 

 flowered. Flowers § in., very shortly pedicelled, white and pink. Pod J- J 

 in., linear-oblong, slightly curved, obtuse, partially dehiscent, 6-8-seeded. — 

 Distrtb. "W. Europe from Denmarli*to Portugal and Italy. — An anomalous 

 species, on account of the length |bf the keel ; habit of Trifolium sub- 

 terraneum. 



6. medica'go, L. Medick. 



Herbs. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate, nerves ending in teeth ; stipules 

 adnate to the petiole. Flowers small, yellow or violet, honeyed : bracts 

 small or 0. Calyx-teeth 5, nearly equal. Keel obtuse, shorter than the 

 oblong Swings, not adnate to the stamens, spreading and exposing the 

 anthers. Filaments not dilated, upper distinct ; anthers uniform. Style 

 subulate, glabrous, stigma subcapitate ; ovules few or manv. Pod spirally 

 curved or coiled, very rarely falcate, often spiny, rarely dehiscent, 1 -more- 

 seeded.— Distrib. Europe, W. Asia, N. Africa ; species 40. — Etym. The 

 Greek name. 



* Perennial. Pod dehiscent, falcate, annular, or coiled into an open heli.r, 

 smooth, many-seeded ; marginal nerve 0. 



1. M. falca'ta, L. ; erect or decumbent, pod linear compressed falcate 



or annular downy. 



Gravel banks and waste sandy places in the E. counties; fl. June-July. — Stem* 

 6-24 in., diffuse. Leaflets \-h in., narrowly linear, or onovate oblong, toothed, 

 notched and mucronate at the tip; stipules large, subulate. Flowers % in., 

 shortly pedicelled, in contracted racemes. Pod | in. — Distrib. Europe, 

 "N". Asia, India. 



M. sylves'tris, Fries ; with flowers vellow then dark green, and pod semicircular 

 or annular, is probably a hybrid, JVyman— E. counties. 



