510 LEGUMINOSAE (PULSE FAMILY) 



13. T. DtrBiuM Sibth. Similar to the preceding but smaller throughout; 

 heads loosely few-flowered; standard 4 mm. long, about 11-nerved, scarcely or 

 lint at all striate in age. ( T. procumbens, var. minus Man. ed. 6.) Similar 

 situations, Mass, to Va. and Tenn. ; also locally established westw. (Nat. from 

 Eu.) 



19. MELILOTUS [Tourn.] Hill. MBLILOT. SWEET CLOVEK 



Flowers much as in Trifolium, but in spike-like racemes, small. Corolla de- 

 ciduous, free from the stamen-tube. Pod ovoid, coriaceous, wrinkled, longer 

 than the calyx, scarcely dehiscent, 1-2-seeded. Annual or biennial herbs, fra- 

 grant in drying, with pinnately 3-foliolate leaves. (Name from juAi, honey, and 

 Xwros, some leguminous plant.) 



1. M. OFFICINALIS (L.) Lam. (YELLOW M.) Upright, usually tall ; leaflets 

 obovate-oblong, obtuse, closely serrate ; petals yellow, of nearly equal length. 6-9 

 mm. long ; pod 2.5-3.5 mm. long, glabrous or glabrate, prominently cross-ribbed. 



Waste or cultivated ground, common. (Nat. from Eu.) 



2. M. ALTfssiMA Thuill. Similar ; leaflets linear- to lance-oblong, subentireor 

 remotely toothed ; pod gibbous, 4.5-6 mm. long, pubescent, obscurely reticulate. 



Ballast about Atlantic ports. (Adv. from Eu.) 



3. M. INDICA (L.) All. Low; leaflets cuneate-oblanceolate or -obovate, 

 truncate or emarginate, toothed above the middle ; corolla yellow, 2-2.5 mm. 

 long; pod gibbous, about 2 mm. long, alveolate. Ballast and waste places 

 about Atlantic ports. (Adv. from Eurasia.) 



4. M. ALBA Desr. (WHITE M.) Tall ; leaflets narrowly obovate to oblong, 

 serrate, truncate or emarginate ; corolla white, 4-5 mm. long, the standard longer 

 than the other petals pod 3-4 mm. long, somewhat reticulate. Rich soil, road- 

 sides, etc., common. (Nat. from Eu.) 



20. MEDIC AGO [Tourn.] L. MEDICK 



Flowers nearly as in Melilotus. Pod 1 -several-seeded, scythe-shaped, in- 

 curved, or variously coiled. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate; leaflets toothed; 

 stipules often cut. (Mi?dtjn} f the name of the Alfalfa, because it came to the 

 Greeks from Media.) 



* Perennials ; pods straightish or loosely coiled, unarmed. 



1. M. SATIVA L. (LUCEHNK, ALFALFA.) Upright, smooth, perennial ; leaf- 

 lets obovate-oblong, toothed ; flowers bluish-purple, racemed; pods twisted. 

 Cultivated for green fodder and often spontaneous. (Introd. from Eu.) 



2. M. FALCATA L. Similar ; leaflets linear ; flowers yellow ; pod straight ish 

 or scarcely coiled. Waste ground, eastw., rare and casual ; perhaps not 

 persisting. (Adv. from Eu.) 



* * Annuals; pods (often armed) reniform or tightly coiled. 



3. M. Lui'iiLlNA L. (BLACK M., NONESUCH.) Procumbent, pubescent. 

 annual ; leaflets wedge-obovate, toothed at the apex ; flowers yc.tlti\ in xlmrf 

 xin'kp.s; pods kidney-form, 1-seeded. Waste places, common. (Adv. from 

 Eu.) 



4. M. AFRICA Huds. (SPOTTBI>M.) Spreading or procumbent annual, some- 

 what pubescent ; leaflets obcordate, with a purple spot, minutely toothed ; 

 peduncles ''> "t-fln n-crt'd flowers yellow ; pods compactly spiral, of 2 or 3 turns, 

 compressed. /// //v<f 071 the thick edge, and fringed with a double row of 

 curved prickles. (M. maculata Sibth.) Middle Atlantic States to N. B., on 

 waste ground, not common. (Adv. from Eu.) 



">. M. nfsiMi>A Gaertn. < P,i i; CIOVIK.) Nearly glabrous ; />,/*<///;/ r?~ 

 ticitlutcd. and with a thin kft-h-d e dij< ; otherwise as the last. ( M. </<')///ci<l<if<r 

 Willd.) Waste places, I're<|iienl; a fodder plant, westw. (Introd. from F.u.) 



