96 LEGUMINOSJE. [Melii.otus. 



7. MEIiILO'TUS, Tourncfort. Melilot. 



Annual or biennial, fragrant herbs. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate, nerves 

 ending in teeth ; stipules adnate to the petiole. Flowers in axillary 

 racemes, small, drooping, yellow or white, honeyed ; bracts minute or 0. 

 Calyx-teeth 5, nearly equal. Petals very deciduous ; standard oblong ; keel 

 shorter than the wings, obtuse, not adnate to the stamens, resilient after 

 depression. Filaments not dilated upwards, the upper distinct, or only so 

 above the middle ; anthers uniform. Style filiform, stigma terminal ; 

 ovules few. Pod short, straight, thick, hardly dehiscent. Seeds 1 or few. 

 — Warm and temp, regions of the Old World ; species 10. — Etym. mcl 

 and lotus, from the honeyed smell. 



1. M. altis'sima, Thuill. ; erect, petals nearly equal, pod ovoid com- 

 pressed acuminate reticulate hairy. M. officinalis, Willd. 



Fields, &c, from Perth southd. ; Ireland very rare; (a denizen, Wats.); fl. June- 

 Aug. — Annual or perennial. Stem 2-3 ft., much branched. Leaflets §- I J 

 in., obovate- or linear-oblong, toothed; stipules subulate, very slender. 

 Racemes 3-4 in. Flowers J in., secund, deep yellow, pedicels short. Corolla 

 more than twice as long as the calyx. Pod black when ripe, 1-2-seeded. — 

 Distrib. Europe, E. and W. Asia, Tibet ; introd. in N. America. 



2. M. alba, Desr. ; standard longer than the wings or keel, pod ovoid 

 acute reticulate, glabrous. M. vulgaris, Willd. St. leucantha, Koch. White. 

 Melilot. 



Waste places, not rare, from Elgin southd. ; Ireland ; (an alien or colonist ? 

 Wats.); fl. July- Aug. —Very similar to M. altissima, but more slender; 

 flowers smaller, white, in long racemes; pod more ovoid and glabrous, als) 

 black when ripe. — Distrib. Europe, E. and W. Asia, India; introd. in 

 N. America. 



M. officinalis, Desr. ; standard longer than the keel as long as the 

 wings, pod ovoid obtuse mucronate transversely ribbed rugose glabrous. 

 M. arven'sis, Wallr. 

 Waste places, not indigenous, chiefly in the E. counties ; Ireland ; fl June- 



Aug.— Habit, &c, of the preceding. Flowers pale-yellow or white. Pod 



olive-brown when ripe. -Distrib. Europe, N. Africa, N. and W. Asia, 



India. 



8. TRIFO'LIUM, L. Trefoil, Clover. 



Herbs, usually low. Leaves digitately, rarely pinnately 3-foliolate ; 

 stipules adnate to the petiole. Flowers capitate or spiked, rarely solitary, 

 red, purple, or white, rarely yellow, honeyed ; bracts small or 0, sometimes 

 forming a toothed involucre. Calyx-teeth 5, subequal. Petals persistent ; 

 wing longer than the keel, the claws of both adnate to the staminal tube ; 

 keel petals resilient after depression, but exposing the stamens. Upper 

 stamen distinct ; filaments all or 5 with dilated tips ; anthers uniform. 

 Style filiform, stigma oblique or dorsal ; ovules few. Pod small, indehis- 

 cent, or with the top falling off, rarely 2-valved, 1-4-seeded, nearly enclosed 



