80 ENGLISH BOTANY. 



In pastures, banks, borders of fields, and on rocky slopes ; most 

 partial to chalky soils. Rather common in the South of England, 

 but becoming rare towards the North, and doubtfully native in 

 Scotland, from which country it has only been reported from Ayr- 

 shire and Kincardineshire. 



England, Scotland ? Perennial. Summer. 



Stems very numerous, much branched, decumbent, 6 to 18 

 inches long. Leaves 1 to 3 inches long, with 4 to 7 pairs of ellip- 

 tical sub-glabrous leaflets, often truncate at the apex. Peduncles 

 axillary, usually about twice as long as the leaves. Flower-heads 

 dejiressed-globular, 5- to 12-flowered, with an extremely short 

 involucre of scarious bracts. Elowers f to -| inch long, pale- 

 yellow, spreading when expanded at length reflexed. Pedicels 

 shorter than the calyx-tube. Calyx very short, bell-shaped, 

 with deltoid triangular teeth, the 2 upper ones united for the 

 greater portion of their length and separate from the 3 lower. 

 Petals more than three times as long as the calyx, contracted 

 into slender claws as long as the laminae, that of the standard 

 remote from the others so as to leave a space between them. Pod 

 1 to 1^ inch long, generally curved downwards into a semicircle or a 

 ring, with a series of almost continuous crescent- or kidney-shaped 

 excrescences over the seeds, occupying its entire breadth over 

 the middle of each and narrowing off towards each end, where they 

 curve towards the superior margin. Seeds 2 to 0, brown, similar 

 in shape to the excrescences which are over them. Plant pale- 

 green, slightly glaucous, glabrous except occasionally a few hairs 

 on the midribs of the leaves, peduncles, pedicels, and upper part 

 of the stem. 



Horseshoe Vetch. 



French, Ilippocrepide en Ombelle. German, Schopffikmiger IIu/eisenMee. 



Sub-Tkibe II.— EU-HEDYSAREiE. 



Pod much compressed, and generally mucb constricted between 

 the joints, which are few (occasionally reduced to 1), often rugose, 

 muricatcd or sjiiny. Elowers in terminal racemes. Leaves pin- 

 nate, with an odd terminal leaflet, or pinnately-trifoliate, rarely 

 unifoliate. 



GJSNUS AF.—O NOBRYCHIS. Tournef. 



Calyx bell-shaped, with 5 long subulate nearly equal teeth. 

 Standard oval or obovate, spreading ; wings shorter than the keel ; 

 keel obliquely truncate at the apex, somewhat beaked. Stamens 



