* 
— 
33 
Melilotus officinalis. Yellow sweet clover; King's clover; Hart's clover; Plaster 
clover; Melilot clover; Common melilot; Wild laburnum. 
This European species has become quite widely naturalized in this country. It pos- 
sesses little value—not enough to warrant its cultivation. It grows in swamps 
and in wet meadows, while M. altissimus grows only on the driest soils. 
Modiola decumbens. Modiola. 
\ 
se Y) 
FIG. 31.—Modiola multifida. Fic. 32.—Sainfoin (Onobrychis sativa). 
difficult to eradicate, and should be introduced with some caution. A closely 
related species of very similar habit, M. multifida (fig. 31), is a native of low 
grounds from Virginia southward. This is also valuable as a pasture plant. 
Onobrychis sativa. Sainfoin; Esparcette; Asparset; Bourgoyne. (Fig. 32.) 
A deep-rooting perennial legume, extensively cultivated in the temperate portions of 
Europe on dry, calcareous soils which are too barren for clover or alfalfa. 
stems are erect or ascending, 1 to 2 feet high, ribbed and downy, the leaves 
unequally pinnate, composed of 6 to 12 pairs of opposite leatlets, with an odd 
terminal one. The bright pink flowers are numerous in spike-like racemes, 
borne on a long stalk. A permeable, well-drained subsoil is essential for its 
growth. Like alfalfa, it is quickly killed whenever the ground becomes sat- 
urated with water, and is therefore not suited for growth in wet meadows or 
in marshy lands. There is no better plant for growing on barren hills, but it 
18196—No. 2——3 
