XIX 



THE CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS 



257 



be recognised by its ternate leaves, its racemes of large yellow flowers, 

 and many seeded legumes. Most of the other plants belonging to the 

 genus Cytisus are poisonous. 



Leguminous Plants Cultivated for Food. The following are the 

 principal plants which are cultivated for food in the United Kingdom : 



Garden Peas Pisum. 

 Beans Phaseolus. 

 Clovers Trifolium. 

 M edick Medicago. 

 Sainfoin Onobrychis. 



Vetches or Tares Vicia. 

 Bird'sfoot Trefoil Lottts. 

 Kidney- Vetch Anthyllis 

 Common Melilot M. officinalis. 

 Furze, gorse, or whin Ulex. 







FIG. 248. Bird's-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus.) i, Flowering branch ; 2, flower ; 

 3, pistil and stamens : 4, carpel ; 5, fruit ; 6, corolla ; a, standard ; b, wings ; c, 

 keel ; 7, floral diagram. 



Natural Order : Rosacese (Rose Family). The plants of 

 this order are either herbs or woody plants. The leaves are 

 generally alternate and stipulate. The flowers are actinomor- 

 phic and perigynous. The sepals and petals are usually four or 

 five in number and the stamens are indefinite and perigynous. 

 The pistil is either apocarpous or monocarpous while the number 



