LOT 



LOT 



pistillum is a columnar germ, oblong : style 

 simple, a^crnding : stigma an inflcctud point : 

 the pericarpium is a lt;ganit; cylindric, stirt" and 

 straight, staffed, longer than the calvx, many- 

 celled, two-valved : the seeds several and cy- 

 lindric. 



The species cultivated arc : \ . L. (etragono- 

 lohos, Winged Bird's-t'oot Trefoil ; 2. L. jaco- 

 Iceu!:, Dark-flowered Bird's-foot Trefoil ; 3. L. 

 cretlcus, Silvcrv Bird's-foot Trefoil ; 4. L. 

 hirsutus, Hairv Bird's-foot Trefoil ; 5. L. Do- 

 rycnhnn, Shrubby Bird's-foot Trefoil. 



The first has an annual root : the stems seve- 

 ral, decumbent, upright, about a foot long, 

 having at each joint a ternate leaf : the leaflets 

 ovate ; the stipules of the saiHe shape : pedun- 

 cles axillary, alternate, from two to three inches 

 long, each sustaining one (sometimes two) large 

 red flowers at the top, with three leaves just 

 under the flower. The wings are very dark pur- 

 ple, appearing to be black at the end : the le- 

 gume thick, with four broad undulating w ings : 

 the seeds sub-globular, the size of a small 

 pea, smooth, pale or livid purple, without 

 spots. It flowers in June and July, and the 

 seeds ripen in autunni. It is a native of 

 Sicily. 



It was formerly cultivated as an esculent 

 plant, for the green pods, whch are said to be 

 still eaten in some of our northern counties, 

 but they are very coarse. It is now chiefly 

 cultivated in flower-gardens for ornament. 



The second species has a slender woody stem, 

 from two to three feet high, sending out many 

 slender herbaceous branches : the leaves sessile, 

 hoary ; leaflets narrow, white : the flowers ax- 

 illary from the upper part of the stem, four or 

 five, on very slender peduncles, ctf a yellowish 

 deep purple colour : the pods taper, slender, 

 little more than an inch lung, containing five 

 or six small roundish seeds. It is a native of 

 the Cape Verd Islands, flowering all the sum- 

 mer and autumn, and many times a great part" 

 of the winter. 



The third species rises wit'n slender stems 

 which require support, from three to four feet 

 high, sendnig out a few side branches. At each 

 joint is a neat silvery ternate leaf, with two 

 appendages or stipules : the peduncles axillary, 

 from two to three inches long, sustaining 

 heads of yellow flowers, which part in the mid- 

 dle, each head containing four or six flowers : 

 these appear in May, June, and Julv, and are 

 succeeded by long taper pods filled with roundish 

 seeds, which ripen in the autumn. It is a native 

 of Spain and the Levant. 



The fourth species has a perennial stalk three 

 feet high : when the roots are large, they fre- 



quentlv send up several of these stalks, especi- 

 ally if the old ones be cut down : thex' arc hairy, 

 and divide into several branches : the 1^'aves arc 

 ternate, hoary, with two stipules : the flowers 

 in heads on long axillary peduncles: the calyxes 

 very hairy : the corollas dirty white, with a few 

 marks of pale red : the pods short, thick, 

 chestnut-coloured, containing several roundish 

 seeds. It is a native of the Souih of Europe, 

 flowering from June to August. 



The fifth species rises with weak shrubby 

 stalks three or four feet high, sending out many 

 slender branches, thinly set with small hoary 

 leaves, having five leaflets, spreading like the 

 fingers, and sessile: the flowers at the extremi- 

 ty of the branches in small heads. They are 

 very small and wliite, appear at the end of 

 June, or in July, continue to September, and are 

 succeeded by short pods, containing two or three 

 small round seeds. It is a native of the South 

 of Europe, 



Culture. — The first sort is raised by sowing 

 the seed annually in spring, in the open ground, 

 in the places where the plants are to remain, in 

 patches in difl'erent parts, of five or six seeds in 

 each, half an inch deep. The plants soon come 

 up, which, remaining in the same place for flow- 

 ering, require only occasional weeding, being 

 either sufl'ered to trail, according to their natu- 

 ral growth, or tied up to sticks. 



The other sorts may be increased by seeds and 

 cuttings. 



The seeds should be sown in pots of light 

 earth or in a moderate hot-bed ; and when the 

 plants are about three inches high be planted 

 out in separate small pots of light rich earth, 

 giving water, and placing them in the shade till 

 fresh-rooted. 



The cuttings of the young stalks and 

 branches may be planted any time in the spring 

 or summer, in beds or pots of rich mould, 

 giving shade and water. They emit roots, and 

 form plants in a few weeks, but may be greatly 

 facilitated by covering them close with hand- 

 glasses till they begin to shoot at top ; then 

 they should be gradually inured to the air, 

 and soon after be transplanted into separate 

 pots. 



The young green seed-pods of the first son 

 were formerlv dressed and eaten as peas, or in 

 the manner of kidney-beans. 



The ottier kinds effect an agreeable variety in 

 collections of green-house plants, both in their 

 foliage and flowers. They all require shelter 

 from frost, the two first in particular ; the two 

 last are somewhat hardier, and sometimes suc- 

 ceed in the full ground all the year, in warm dry 

 situations, A few plants should however coti- 

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