Vicia.] LEGUMiNos^. 127 



In elevated woods and thickets; very rare. Fl. June — September. Fr. Sep- 

 tember, October. If. 



E. Med. — Plentiful in a copse (Luccombe copse) on the road between Shank- 

 lin and Bonchurch, about midway between the two places, where it has been 

 known for many years to certain persons in the island, though I am ignorant 

 who discovered it there. Mr. Cnrtis's specimens were gathered by him in the 

 late Mr. Vine's grounds at Puckaster, but where the old gardener, Stephen White, 

 assured me it had been introduced from the neighbourhood of Luccombe, the only 

 plant of it he showed me being trained to a wooden prop or pillar in the garden. 

 Mr. Curtis tells me it was abundant some years ago overhanging the road at 

 the entrance of Bonchurch, but the recent unhappy improvements on the natural 

 beauties of the Undercliff have quite effected its extirpation. Northlands 

 Copse, by Yaverland ? 



Stems numerous, several feet in length, branched, deeply furrowed and quite 

 glabrous, climbing amongst the brushwood by means of its long, slender, coin- 

 pound tendrils. Leaves of many opposite or alternate, ovate, obtuse, slightly 

 stalked, smooth, bright green leaflets, sometimes notched at the extremity, where 

 the midrib terminates in a minute point or mucro directed downwards ; tendrils 

 much branched. ' Racemes pedunculated, longer than the leaves from the base of 

 which they originate, many-flowered. Flowers very elegant. Calyx campanu- 

 late, with slender subulate teeth, the lowermost or middle one much the longest, 

 the 2 upper ones with erect or slightly recurved tips. Corolla white, the standard 

 exquisitely pencilled with blue or purple reticulations, the obtuse keel tipped with 

 a mixture of the same colour with umber ; sometimes the purple tint is suffused 

 over the entire standard, as in part of my Isle-of- Wight specimens, in which the 

 pencilling is rather a rich lilac than the pale blue colouring given to the plant 

 in E. B. Style cylindrical, not at all dilated upwards, clothed all round below 

 the stigma with spreading hairs, to nearly i its length. Legume not above an 

 inch long by about 2^ lines wide, glabrous, blackish brown, wrinkled and rough- 

 ish with raised points, tipped with the permanent style. Seeds 4, globose, some- 

 times with a dimple or depression on each side, olive-coloured, smooth, one or two 

 abortive ; hilum very large, embracing more than half the circumference of the 

 seed, from which when ripe the placenta separates like a hoop. 



3. V. Cracca, L. Tufted Vetch. "Peduncles many-flowered 

 longer than the leaves, flowers imbricated, leaflets lanceolate 

 slightly hairy with tendrils, stipules half arrow-shaped nearly 

 entire."— Br. Fl. p. 110. E. B. t. 1168. 



Extremely common in woods, thickets, hedges and moist bushy places, some- 

 times in meadows and the dry borders of fields. Fl. July. Fr. August, Septem- 

 ber. If.. 



Legumes drooping, 9 — 12 lines in length, pale fawn-coloured, dappled, streaked 

 and clouded with brownish black, oblong, subcompressed, glabrous or very slightly 

 pubescent. Seeds few, 4 or 5 (mostly 1 or 2 by abortion), globose, mottled dull 

 black and greenish yellow ; liilum linear, above ^ the circumference of the seed. 



** Peduncles short, few-Jlowered. 



3. V. sepium, L. Bush Vetch. " Eacemes 4 — 6 flowered 

 nearly sessile, calyx-teeth unequal, legumes upright glabrous, 

 leaflets 4 — 8 pairs ovate obtuse gradually smaller upwards upon 

 the petiole."— jBr. Fl. p. 109. E. B. t. 1515. 



In woods, groves, thickets, hedges and moist bushy places ; very commonly. 

 Fl. April — June. Fr. July, August. 2f . 



