986 MEDICAGO. [CLASS XVIJ. ORDER III. 
GENUS XV. MEDICA'GO.—Liny. Medick. 
Nat. Ord. Papiniona’cex. Linn. 
Gen. Coar. Calyw five cleft or five toothed. Keel obtuse. Stamens 
diadelphous. Legumes many seeded, variable in form, always 
faleate, or spirally twisted—Name p+ixn, of the Greeks; so 
called because it was introduced into Greece by the Medes. 
* Legumes unarmed. 
1. M. falea'ta, Linn. (Fig. 1144.) Yellow Sickle Medick. Stem 
prostrate, nearly smooth ; leaflets ovate, oblong, notched, mucronate, 
toothed towards the end; stipules lanceolate, awl-shaped, the lower 
ones toothed at the base; racemes many flowered, sub-capitate ; 
legumes falcate, or slightly twisted, reticulated withveins, and slightly 
downy. 
English Botany, t. 1016.—English Flora, vol. iii. p. 317—Hooker, 
British Flora, ed. 4. vol. i. p. 279.—Lindley, Synopsis, p. 82. 
Root tapering and branched, long. Stems mostly numerous, 
spreading, about two feet long, branched, and slightly downy. 
leaves alternate, slightly downy, the footstalk furrowed, leaflets 
three, the two lateral ones nearly sessile, the middle one elevated 
on a footstalk, ovate oblong, the mid-rib stout, terminating in a 
mucro between the lobes of the notched apex, the veins slender, 
the margin towards the apex finely toothed. Stipules sub-mem- 
branous, pale, lanceolate, with an awl-shaped point, the lower 
ones often toothed on the margin. Inflorescence racemose clusters 
of numerous yellow flowers, elevated on a peduncle, about an 
as long again as the leaves from the upper part of the stem. Pedieles 
shorter than the calyx. Bracteas slender, awl-shaped, membranous. 
Calyx bell-shaped, with lanceolate teeth. Flowers mostly yellow, 
sometimes a pale violet or green. Legumes black, downy, curved, 
rarely twisted, reticulated with veins, and containing from four to 
eight oblong seeds. 
Habitat.— Pastures and borders of fields. 
Perennial ; flowering in June and July. 
2. M. sati'va, Linn. (Fig. 1145.) Purple Medick or Lucerne. Stem 
erect, smooth ; leaflets oblong, obovate, notched, mucronate, toothed 
towards the end; stipules lanceolate, awl-shaped, the lower ones 
toothed at the base; racemes many flowered, oblong; legumes 
loosely, spirally, twisted, obscurely reticulated, and slightly downy. 
English Botany, t. 1749.—English Flora, vol. iii. p. 317.—Hooker, 
British Flora, ed. 4. vol. i. p. 279.—Lindley, Synopsis, p. 82. 
Root long, tapering, woody. Stem erect, about two feet high, 
round, smooth, branched, somewhat zigzag. Leaves smooth, ele- 
vated on a channeled footstalk, leaflets oblong, ovate, the lateral 
ones nearly sessile, and smaller than the central one, which is elevated 
on a short stalk, the mid-rib stout, terminating in a muero between 
