THE CLOVERS 
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 é@s 
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, 
Fic. 89. Alsike clover. 
239 
Fic. 88. White sweet-clover. 
striking root wherever they 
touch the ground, fit it for life 
in pastures andinlawns. 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 
