96 LEGUMINOS^. [MELILOTUS. 



7. MELIIiO'TUSj Tournefort. MELILOT. 



Annual or biennial, fragrant herbs. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate, nerves 

 ending in teeth ; stipules adnate to the petiole. Flowers in axillary 

 racemes, small, drooping, yellow or white, honeyed; bracts minute or 0. 

 Calyx-teeth 5, nearly equal. Petals very deciduous ; standard oblong ; keel 

 shorter than the wings, obtuse, not adnate to the stamens, resilient after 

 depression. Filaments not dilated upwards, the upper distinct, or only so 

 above the middle ; anthers uniform. Style filiform, stigma terminal ; 

 ovules few. Pod short, straight, thick, hardly dehiscent. Seeds 1 or few. 

 Warm and temp, regions of the Old World ; species 10. ETYM. mel 

 and lotus, from the honeyed smell. 



1. M. altis'sima, Thuill. ; erect, petals nearly equal, pod ovoid com- 

 pressed acuminate reticulate hairy. M. officina'lis, Willd. 



Fields, &c., from Perth southd. ; Ireland very rare ; (a denizen, Wats.}; fl. June- 

 Aug. Annual or perennial. Stem 2-8 ft., much branched. Leaflets -1 J 

 in., obovate- or linear-oblong, toothed; stipules subulate, very slender. 

 Racemes 3-4 in. Flowers J in., secund, deep yellow, pedicels short. Corolla 

 more than twice as long as the calyx. Pod black when ripe, 1-2-seeded. 

 DISTKIB. Europe, E. and W. Asia, Tibet ; introd. in N. America. 



2. M. al'ba, Desr. ; standard longer than the wings or keel, pod ovoid 

 acute reticulate, glabrous. M.vulgcMris 9 Wi]l^. M. leucantha, Koch. White 

 Melilot. 



Waste places, not rare, from Elgin southd. ; Ireland ; (an alien or colonist ? 

 Wats.}; fl. July- Aug. Very similar to M. altissima, but more slender; 

 flowers smaller, white, in long racemes ; pod more ovoid and glabrous, also 

 black when ripe. DISTRIB. Europe, E. and W. Asia, India; introd. in 

 N. America. 



M. OFFICINA'LIS, Desr. ; standard longer than the keel as long as the 

 wings, pod ovoid obtuse mucronate transversely ribbed rugose glabrous. 

 M. arven'sis, Wallr. 

 Waste places, not indigenous, chiefly in the E. counties ; Ireland ; fl June- 



Ang.- Habit, &c., of the preceding. Flowers pale-yellow or white. Pod 



olive-brown when ripe. -DISTHIB. Europe, N. Africa, N. and W. Asia, 



India. 



8. TRIFO'LIUM, L. TREFOIL, CLOVER. 



Herbs, usually low. Leaves digitately, rarely pinnately 3-foliolate ; 

 stipules adnate to the petiole. Flowers capitate or spiked, rarely solitary, 

 red, purple, or white, rarely yellow, honeyed ; bracts small or 0, sometimes 

 forming a toothed involucre. Calyx-teeth 5, subequal. Petals persistent ; 

 wing longer than the keel, the claws of both aduate to the staminal tube ; 

 keel petals resilient after depression, but exposing the stamens. Upper 

 stamen distinct ; filaments all or 5 with dilated tips ; anthers uniform. 

 Style filiform, stigma oblique or dorsal ; ovules few. Pod small, indehis- 

 cent, or with the top falling off, rarely 2-valved, 1-4-seeded, nearly enclosed 



