CHAPTER X 



BURR CLOVER 



Burr Clover (Medicago maculata) is sometimes 

 called Spotted Medick and sometimes California clo- 

 ver, also Yellow clover The name burr clover has 

 doubtless arisen from the closely coiled seed pod, 

 which, being covered with curved prickles, adhere to 

 wool more or less as burrs do. The name Spotted 

 Medick has been given because of the dark spot 

 found in the middle of the leaflets, in conjunction 

 with the family of plants to which it belongs. The 

 name California clover is given because of the 

 claim that it was much grown in California after 

 having been introduced there from Chili, and the 

 name yellow clover, from the color of the blossoms. 

 After its introduction into the United States, seeds- 

 men sell California and Southern burr clover as two 

 varieties, but the correctness of the distinction thus 

 made has been questioned. Many persons were 

 wont to confuse it with alfalfa, or, as it is frequently 

 called, lucerne, but the latter is much more upright 

 in its habit of growth, grows to a greater height, has 

 more blossoms, blue in color, and seed pods more 

 loosely coiled. It is also to be distinguished from 

 a variety {Medicago denticulata) which bears much 

 resemblance to it, and which, growing wild over 

 portions of the plains and foothills of the West, 

 affords considerable pasture. 



