THE CLOVERS 



239 



pods. The true clovers 

 (members of the genus Tri- 

 folium) produce their flowers 

 in heads: the others (sweet 

 clovers of the genus Meli- 

 lotus and the medics of the 

 genus Medicago) bear them 

 in more open spike-like 

 racemes. Red and crimson 

 clovers are the most striking 

 species of the fields, but in 

 northern latitudes our native 

 white clover is the hardiest 

 and the most widespread of 

 all. It grows in fields and 

 pastures and copses every- 

 where, often from self-sown 

 seed. Its creeping stems, 



Alsike clover. 



Fig. 88. White sweet-clover. 



striking root wherever they 

 touch the ground, fit it for life 

 in pastures and in lawns. From 

 its sweet flowers, the whitest 

 of all honey is gathered by the 

 bees. Alsike clover is a similar 

 but more robust, imported 

 species, with lax stems, not 

 rooting at the nodes, and with 

 rose-tinted flowers. Buffalo- 

 clover is another rather obscure 

 native species, with piebald, 

 red and white flowers. Then 

 there are two other kinds of 



