510 LEGUMINOSAE (^PULSE FAMILY) 



13. T. DtiBiuM Sibth. Similar to the preceding but smaller throughout-, 

 head? loosely few-flowered; standard 4 mm. long, about 11-nerved, scarcely or 

 not at all striate in age. (T. procumhens, var. minus Man. ed. 6.) — Similar 

 situations, Mass. to Va. and Tenn.; also locally established westw. (Nat. from 

 Eu.) 



19. MELIL6TUS [Touru.] Hill. Melilot. Sweet Clovsr 



Flowers much as in Trifolium, but in spike-like racemes, small. Corolla de- 

 ciduous, free from the stamen-tube. Pod ovoid, coriaceous, wrinkled, longer 

 than the calyx, scarcely dehiscent, 1-2 -seeded. — Annual or biennial herbs, fra- 



y grant in drying, with pinnately 3-foliolate leaves. (Name from fiiXi, honey, and 



°^^ \ut6s, some leguminous plant.) 



^ ^; "^ 1. M. officinXlis (L.) Lam. (Yellow M.) Upright, usually tall ; Zeq/?e^s 



'^ obovate-oblong, obtuse, closely serrate ; petals yellow, of nearly equal length, 0-9 

 ? ^ mm. long ; pod 2.5-3.5 mm. long, glabrous or glabrate, prominently cross-ribbed. 

 "^ —Waste or cultivated ground, common. (Nat. from Eu.) 



2. M. ALTissiMA Thuill. Similar ; leaflets linear- to lance-oblong, subentire or 

 remotely toothed ; pod gibbous, 4.5-6 mm. long, pubescent, obscurely reticulate. 

 — Ballast about Atlantic ports. (Adv. from Eu.) 



3. M. iNDicA (L.) All. Low; leaflets cuneate-oblanceolate or -obovate, 

 , truncate or emarginate,' tootheA above the middle; corolla yellow, 2-2.5 mm. 



„^ long; pod gibbous, about 2 mm. long, alveolate. — Ballast and waste places 



^ about Atlantic ports. (Adv. from Eurasia.) 



; r4 + 4. M. Alba Desr. (White M.) Tall ; leaflets narrowly obovate to oblong, 



[ I serrate, truncate or emarginate ; corolla lohite, 4-5 mm. long, the standard longer 



. ^ than the other petals ; pod 3-4 mm. long, somewhat reticulate. — Rich soil, road- 



1 sides, etc., common. (Nat. from Eu.) 



20. MEDICAGO [Tourn.] L. Medick 



^ Flowers nearly as in Melilotus. Pod 1 -several-seeded, scythe-shaped, in • 



5^^ curved, or variously coiled. — Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate; leaflets toothed; 



^ K stipules often cut. (M775t/c?7, the name of the Alfalfa, because it came to the 



^ "; Greeks from Media.) 



^^ * Perennials ; pods straightish or loosely coiled, unarmed. 



1. M. SAxivA L. (Lucerne, Alfalfa.) Upright, smooth, perennial ; leaf- 

 ci li lets obovate-oblong, toothed ; flowers bluish-purple, racemed ; pods twisted. — 



^ Cultivated for green fodder and often spontaneous. (Introd. from Eu.) 

 : ^ -y. 2. M. falcXta L. Similar ; leaflets linear ; flowers yelloio ; pod straightish 

 I I or scarcely coiled. — Waste ground, eastw., rare and casual ; perhaps not 

 *■ persisting. (Adv. from Eu.) 



♦ * Annuals; pods (often armed) reniform or tightly coiled. 



3. M. ldpulina L. (Black M., Nonesuch.) Procumbent, pubescent, 

 annual ; leaflets wedge-obovate, toothed at the apex ; flowers yellow, in short 

 spikes; pods kidney-form, 1-seeded. — Waste places, common. (Adv. from 

 Eu.) 



4. M. arAbtca Huds. (Spotted M.) Spreading or procumbent annual, some- 

 what pubescent ; leaflets obcordate, with a purple spot, minutely toothed ; 

 peduncles S-iS-floirered ; flowers yellow ; pods compactly spiral, of 2 or 3 turns, 

 compressed, furrowed on the thick edge, and fringed with a double row of 

 curved prickles. {M. maculata Sibth.) —Middle Atlantic States to N. B., on 

 waste ground, not common. (Adv. from Eu.) 



5. M. HfspiDA Gaertn. (Bur Clover.) Nearly glabrous ; pods deeply re- 

 ticulated, and with a thin keeled edge ; otherwise as the last. (If. denticulata 

 Willd. ) — Waste places, frequent ; a fodder plant westw. (Introd. from Eu. ^ 



