LEGTJMrNIFER^, 17 



Distincjuislicd from the last, which it closely resemhlos, hy its 

 procumbent groM-tli, and the pods beini;- shorter than the sepals. 

 Tlie whole plant is less rip^id, with larger leaves, and in this 

 country at least, is usually destitute of spines. It is mucli more 

 clammy to the touch, and has a stronger odour. The flowers are 

 more distinctly racemose. 



As a satisfactory proof of the specific distinction hetween 

 this and the last species, althouii^h so much alike, I may men- 

 tion that the larvoe of the moths Ileliothis marginata and peltigera, 

 which feed upon the present plant, refuse to eat O. camjjcstris 

 — showing there is some difference in their chemical compo- 

 sition. 



Linnreus appears to have had a very indistinct idea of the two 

 preceding species of Ononis, if one may judge from the altera- 

 tions in their nomenclature made hy him from time to time. In 

 the first edition of the " Species Plantarum," p. 716, thei'e are 

 two names to represent these two, and doubtless a third species 

 not found in Britain, — the 0. hircina of Jacquin. These are O. 

 spinosa, with a var. 3 mitis, and O. repens. In the second editio , 

 at p. 1006, there is an addition of O. antiquorum to the above, 

 and in O. spinosa he has var. a mitis and var. 3 spinosa. In the 

 twelfth edition of the " Systema Naturae," vol. ii. p. 478, O. 

 si:)inosa is entirely expunged, and he gives O. antiquorum, O. 

 arvensis, and O. repens. On turning to his Herbarium, there is a 

 specimen of the 0. campestris of Koch, a narrow-leaved form, named 

 O. "antiquorum."* Thee is a second specimen of O. campestris 

 (Koch), the broad-leaved form, with two names (both in Linnreus's 

 handwriting) upon it, — O. " spinosa " and O. " arvensis ;" the latter 

 probably written at a later date. Besules this, on another sheet, 

 there is O. hircina of Jacquin bearing the name of O. " arvensis" 

 in Linnteus's own handwriting. A small stunted specimen of O. 

 procurrens (Wallr.) is also in the Herbarium, bearing the name of 

 O. "repens." 



In this inextricable confusion I have retained the names 

 "campestris" and "arvensis," because they are in general use in 

 this country, though I have great misgivings respecting the 

 expediency of this course ; as when the botanists of each country 

 seek only to preserve unity of nomenclature within restricted geo- 

 graphical areas, it is fatal to all general agreement on the subject. 

 Besides, the name O. arvensis has been used to include both our 

 species, and it is always better to discard such a name, unless a 

 majority of botanists have agreed to use it in a restricted sense, 

 or there be sufficient evidence to show that the originator of the 



• This is not the antiquorum of Gr. <fe Godr., " Flore de France," as it l»as large 

 flowers and an ajiiculate standard. 



VOL. III. D 



