218 SUMMER FLOWERS. 



(71) Medicago. MEDICK. 

 * Flowers purple. 



M. sativa: stem erect, 1-1 J foot high; leaves trifoliolate ; 

 leaflets obovate-oblong, dentate above ; flowers almost always 

 violet or blue ; pod spirally twisted so as to form 2-3 complete 

 rings or coils. Lucerne. Borders of fields, scarcely natura- 

 lized. Fl. June, July. 



** Flowers yellow. 



M. lupulina : annual ; stems 1-2 feet long, branching at 

 the base, spreading, hairy ; stipules broad, shortly toothed ; 

 leaflets obovate ; peduncles longer than the leaves, bearing a 

 compact raceme or oblong head of very small bright yellow 

 flowers; pods small, black when ripe, curved almost into a 

 complete spire, containing a single seed. Nonsuch. Pastures 

 and waste places ; cultivated. Fl. May to August. 



M. maculata : annual ; stems -1 foot long, spreading, 

 branched at the base, glabrous; stipules toothed; leaflets 

 triangular-obcordate, with usually a dark spot in the centre ; 

 flowers 1-4 in the raceme; pod with 3-4 spires, edged with 

 two rows of fine curved prickles. Cultivated and waste 

 places. Fl. May to August. 



(72) Melilotus. MELILOT. 



M. officinalis : annual or biennial; stems erect, 2-4 feet 

 high, branched, glabrous; leaves distant, on long leafstalks; 

 the leaflets obovate or nearly orbicular, those of the upper 

 leaves narrower, often linear; flowers numerous, bright yellow, 

 in long, axillary racemes ; pod oval. Roadsides, banks, and 

 bushy places. Fl. June to August. 



M. arvensis has the leaflets rather broader, and the racemes 

 loo?cr, with fewer flowers ; probably introduced. 



