510 LEGUMINOSAE (^PUL,SE FAMILY^ 



13. T. DtjBiDM Sibth. Similar to the preceding but smaller throughout, 

 headp loosely few-flowered ; standard 4 mm. long, about U-nerved, scarcely or 

 not at all striate in age. {T. procumbens, var. minus Man. ed. 6.) — Similar 

 situations, Mass. to Va. and Tenn.; also locally established westw. (Nat. from 

 Eu.) 



19. MELILOTUS [Tourn.] Hill. Meliloi. Swbbt Cloveb 



Flowers much as in TrifoUum, but in spike-like racemes, small. Corolla de. 

 ciduous, free from the stamen-tube. Pod ovoid, coriaceous, wrinkled, longer 

 than the calyx, scarcely dehiscent, 1-2-seeded. — Annual or biennial herbs, fra- 

 grant in drying, with pinnately .3-foliolate leaves. (Name from /lAi, honey, and 

 XwTos, some leguminous plant.) 



1. M. OFPiciN.\.i,is (L.) Lam. (Yellow M ) Upright, usually tall ; ica/c(s 

 obovate-oblong, obtuse, closely serrate ; petals yellow, of nearly equal length, 6-9 

 mm. long ; pod 2.5-3.6 ram. long, glabrous or glabrate, prominently cross-ribbed. 



— Waste or cultivated ground, common. (Nat. from Eu.) 



2. M. ALTfssiMA Thuill. Similar; Zea/eis linear- to lance-oblong, sufteTiJfre or 

 remotely toothed; pod gibbous, 4.5-6 mm. long, pubescent, obscurely reticulate. 



— Ballast about Atlantic ports. (Adv. from Eu.) 



3. M. Indica (L. ) All. Low; leaflets cuneate-oblanceolate or -obovate, 

 truncate or emarginate, toothed above the middle ; corolla yellow, 2-2.6 mm. 

 long; pod gibbous, about 2 mm. long, alveolate. — Ballast and waste places 

 about Atlantic ports. (Adv. from Eurasia.) 



4. M. ALBA Desr. (White M.) Tall ; leaflets narrowly obovate to oblong, 

 serrate, truncate or emarginate ; corolla white, 4-5 mm. lonsr, the standard longer 

 than the other petals ; pod 3-4 mm. long, somewhat reticulate. — Eich soil, road- 

 sides, etc., common. (Nat. from Eu.) 



20. MEDICAGO [Tourn.] L. Mediok 



Flowers nearly as in Melilotus. Pod 1 -several-seeded, scythe-shaped, in- 

 curved, or variously coiled. — Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate; leaflets toothed; 

 stipules often cut. (Mi;5ik7), the name of the Alfalfa, because it came to the 

 Greeks from Media.) 



* Perennials ; pods straighiish or loosely coiled, unarmed. 



1. M. satIva L. (Lucerne, Alfalfa.) Upright, smooth, perennial ; leaf- 

 lets obovate-oblong, toothed ; flowers bluish-purple, racemed; pods twisted. — 

 Cultivated for green fodder and often spontaneous. (Introd. from Eu.) 



2. M. falo\ta L. Similar ; leaflets linear ; flowers yellow; pod straightish 

 or scarcely coiled. — Waste ground, eastw., rare and casual ; perhaps not 

 persisting., (Adv. from Eu.) 



* * Annuals; pods {often armed) reniform or tightly coiled. 



3. M. lupulIna L. (Black M., Nonesuch.) Procumbent, pubescent, 

 annual ; leaflets wedge-obovate, toothed at the apex ; flowers yellow, in short 

 spikes; pod» kidney -form, 1-seeded. — Waste places, common. (Adv. from 

 Eu.) ^ 



4. M. abAbica Huds. (Spotted M.) Spreading or procumbent annual, some- 

 what pubescent ; leaflets obcordate, with a purple spot, minutely toothed ; 

 peduncles S-5-flowered; flowers yellow ; pods compactly spiral, of 2"or 3 turns, 

 compressed, furrowed on the thick edge, and fringed with a double row of 

 curved prickles. {M. maculata Sibth.) — Middle Atlantic States to N. B., on 

 waste ground, not common. (Adv. from Eu.) 



6. M. HfspiDA Gaertn. (Bur Clovek.) Nearly glabrous ; pods deeply re- 

 ticulated, and with a thin keeled edge; otherwise as thf last. (M. denticulata 

 WDld.) — Waste planes, frpr]uent; a fodder plant westw. (Introd. from Eu.) 



