LEGUMINOS^E 85 



L. corniculatus L. Bird's-foot Trefoil. Very polymorphic ; glabrous or 

 hairy in various stages. Leaflets usually obovate or oblong. Stipules ovate- 

 lanceolate. Flowers yellow or with reddish standard, turning green on ,drying, 

 3-6 on very long peduncles. Calyx-teeth equal, hairy, as long as the tube. Pod 

 broadly linear, straight. 



Grassy places, hill-sides, and woods. May-July. 



Lotus tenuis Kit. A tall, slender, glabrescent plant, sometimes considered 

 a sub-species of the last. Stems much branched. Leaflets and stipules linear 

 or linear-lanceolate. Flowers yellow, turning green on drying, 2-5 on long slender 

 peduncles. Calyx-teeth equal, erect, acuminate. Pod slender, linear, straight, 

 20-30 mm. long. 



Damp sandy places and shady hills. June-July. 



L. uligitlOSUS Schk. has been recorded from les lies d'Hyeres by Shuttle- 

 worth. 



PSORALEA L. 



P. bituminosa L. (Plate XIII). An herb 2-3 ft. high, smelling strongly of 

 bitumen when bruised. Stems furrowed, dark, branching. Leaflets of lower 

 leaves oval, the upper ones lanceolate or linear. Stipules linear-lanceolate, acu- 

 minate. Peduncles axillary, very long, stiff, bearing heads of 10-15 light purple 

 (or very rarely white) flowers. Calyx hairy, lower tooth longest. Pod ovoid, with 

 compressed beak. Leaves trifoliolate. 



Sterile places in the littoral region, common. April-June. Occasionally it 

 flowers in the winter. 



COLUTEA L. 



C. arborescens L. Shrub, 2-3 yds. high. Leaves with 3-5 pairs of oval 

 leaflets, usually emarginate and mucronate, glabrous. Stipules small lanceolate. 

 Flowers yellow, rather large, in axillary cymes of 2-6. Calyx short, teeth 5, 

 short, unequal, covered with black adpressed hairs. Pod stalked, pendent, be- 

 coming very large and inflated, the membranous sides curiously veined. 



Limestone hills and mountain woods. May-June. 



BISERRULA L. 



B. Pelecinus L. A prostrate hairy annual. Leaves imparipinnate, with 

 7-13 pairs of oblong entire leaflets. Flowers whitish, bluish at top, small, 3-10 

 in loose subglobular heads. Calyx-teeth equal, linear, as long as the tube. 

 Pods 15-30 mm. by 6-8, in pendent clusters, broadly linear, edged with a row of 

 teeth on each side separated by a rounded sinus. A very distinct plant. 



Arid slopes and hill-sides. March-June. Not uncommon in the eastern part 

 of the Var ; rare in Alpes-Marit. 



ASTRAGALUS L. 



* Pods linear, at least 3 times as long as broad, often glabrous. 



A. glycyphyllus L. Wild Liquorice. Glabrous, bright green ; with strong 

 zigzag stems spreading several feet over the ground. Leaflets in 4-6 pairs, ovate, 

 i-i in. long. Flowers dingy yellow, in racemes rather shorter than the leaves. 

 Pods curved, glabrous, i in. long, divided into 2 cells. 



Shady woods and hedges in the hill and montane region. May-July. 



A. hamosus L. Leaflets 8-12 pairs, oblong, wedge-shaped, emarginate. 

 Lower stipules trifid. Peduncles rather shorter than the leaf, bearing short dense 

 heads of 5-10 small yellowish-white flowers on very short pedicels. Pods cylin- 

 drical, shortly beaked, spreading and sickle-shaped, nearly glabrous at maturity. 

 The flower heads become looser afterwards. Annual. 



Waste, stony places, and dry sandy fields. April-May. 



A. monspessulanus L. Root-stock thick and woody. Plant almost glabrous, 

 green. Flower stalks and leafstalks all radical. Leaflets small, oval, in 12-20 

 pairs. Stipules linear-lanceolate. Calyx glabrescent, with teeth about half length 



