TRIFOLIUM. 



decumbent. — Found wild on tlie mountains of Crete, and in 

 the ifles of Cyprus and Zant. Mr. Hawkins obferved this 

 beautiful Trefoil as the only plant made into hay in the 

 latter country. It might perhaps be tried with advantage 

 in the dry open parts of the fouth of England. The root 

 is annual, if we may judge by appearances. Herbage rather 

 glaucous, nearly fmooth. Stems fpreading in every direc- 

 tion, much branched, purpliih, about a foot high, but by 

 culture they Would certainly become more luxuriant. 

 Leaflets obovate, toothed, emarginate. Stipulas lanceolate. 

 Heads numerous, above an inch broad, on axillary ftalks, 

 longer than the leaves. Calyx fmooth or hairy, its tube 

 very (hort, and two upper teeth not longer ; three lower 

 (Willdenow erroneoufly fays the upper) thrice as long, 

 though ftiorter than the claws of the petals. Standard of a 

 dull but elegant lilac hue, ftrongly ribbed, fharply toothed, 

 withering and permanent, turning brown as it fades. 

 IVings and ieel yellow, (horter, the latter very fmall. The 

 fioixitrs are not reverfed. Willdenow was milled by a dried 

 fpecimen. 



8i. T. ajranum. Golden Trefoil. Linn. Sp. PI. 1087. 

 Willd. n. 69. Sm. Prodr. Fl. Gr«c. Sibth. n. 1814. 

 Dickf. Dr. PI. n. 80. Ehrh. Herb. n. 29. Fl. Dan. 

 t. 558. (T. aureum ; PoUich Palat. v. 2. 344. T. mon- 

 tanum lupulinum ; Bauh. Prodr. 140. Lotus montanus 

 aureus, amplo lupuli capite, annuus ; Barrel. Ic. t. 1024, 

 excellent.) — Heads oval, nearly globular. Standard ellip- 

 tical, deflcxed, entire. Calyx-teeth linear -awlfhaped, 

 elongated, unequal, fmooth. Leaflets all equally feflile. 

 Stem creft. — Native of Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, 

 Savoy, Greece, Crete, and Afia Minor, but not of England ; 

 generally in woods and coppices, in hilly or alpine fituations, 

 flowering in July and Auguft. Root annual. Stems from 

 four to twelve or fifteen inckes high, fcarcely branched. 

 Leaflets obovate-oblong, more or lefs toothed, ribbed, 

 fliorter than their common ^n/i. Stipulas ovato-lanceolate. 

 Heads one, two, or three, full as big as the laft, about the 

 top of the ftem, on longifli, ftout, angular, hairy Jlalks. 

 Corolla of a bright golden yellow, large, (hining, turning 

 brown by age or drying only ; Jlandard furrowed, inflexed. 

 Tube of the calyx fhort, bell-fliaped, fmooth as well as the 

 teeth, which are all more or lefs elongated, though the two 

 uppermoft are fliorteft. Legume fmall, elliptical, fmgle- 

 feeded. See the next fpecies. 



82. T. fpadiceum. Bay-coloured Trefoil. Linn. Sp. 

 PI. 1087. Willd. n. 70. Ait. n. 53. Curt. Mag. t. 557. 

 Ehrh. Herb. n. 19 Heads oval, nearly cylindrical. Stan- 

 dard elliptical, deflexed, entire. Three lower calyx-teeth 

 awl-ftiaped, hairy ; two upper obfolete, or very fliort. Leaf- 

 lets all equally feffile. Stem ereft Native of Sweden, in 



mountainous meadows at Gottfund, near Upfal, and other 

 places, but rarely. Linnaus. Whether it be found alfo 

 in Germany, we are not certain ; but whatever has been taken 

 for this fpecies in other parts of Europe, we have afcertained 

 to be the foregoing, to which all its fynonyms, except the 

 above, belong ; even, probably, Lupulinum montanum, cap'Uulis 

 fpadkeis ; Rupp. Jen. 248. ed. 2. 256. The excellent figure 

 in Curtis is therefore a great acquifition. Indeed the fy- 

 nonyms of agrarium, cited by Linnaeus, are wrong. T. agra- 

 rium of Dodonaeus, Pempt. 576, is aftually Medicago lupu- 

 lina! Yet hence the fpecific name, a very inapplicable one, 

 was taken, T. fpadiceum, fent to Kew by M.Thouin in 1778, 

 is a hardy annual, flowering in July and Augufl:. It differs 

 very decidedly from the laft, in being a fmaller more flender 

 plant, though equally upright. The heads in particular are 

 but half the fize of that fpecies, or if fometimes nearly as long, 

 they are much more flender and cylindrical. The Jlowers, 



though at firft yellow, foon ciiange to a peculiarly ricb dark 

 fnulF-colour, and are eflfentially diftinguifhed by the very 

 fmall upper teeth of their calyx, as well as the long briftly 

 hairs which clothe the lower ones. 



83. T. procumbens. Hop Trefoil. Linn. Sp. PI. 1088. 

 Fl. Suec. ed. 2. 261. Willd. n. 71. Fl. Brit. n. 15. 792. 

 and 1403. Compend. ill. Engl. Bot. t. 945. Purfh 

 n. 9. Fl. Dan. t. 796. (T. agrarium ; Hudf. 328. Curt. 

 Lond. fafc. 3. t. 45. Mart. Rufl;. t. I2I. T. lupulinum ; 

 Rivin. Tetrap. Irr. t. 10. f. I. T. pratenfe luteum, capi- 

 tulo Lupuli, vel agrarium ; Rail Syn. 330. Melilotus, qui 

 Trifolium pratenfe luteum, capitulo Lupuli, vel agrarium ; 

 Vaill. Parif. t. 22. f. 3.) — Heads oval, many-flowered. 

 Standard furrowed. Stems procumbent. Leaflets obovate. 

 Common footftalk elongated in the lower part. — Native of 

 dry gravelly paftures and fields throughout Europe, from 

 Sweden to Greece and Afia Minor, as alfo in North America, 

 flowering in June and July. This is one of three common 

 annual procumbent fpecies, with yeWo'w Jlowers, all of which 

 have been confounded, in fome refpeft or other, by Linnaeus 

 and his difciples, and for the right underfl:anding of which 

 we acknowledge ourfelves obHged to the Rev. Dr. Beeke, 

 now dean of Briftol ; fee Engl. Bot. v. 18. Before the pub- 

 lication of Fl. Brit. V. I and 2, the prefent plant was taken, 

 by all Britifh botanifts, for the Linnaean agrarium, n. 81. 

 From that it differs in being much fmaller, with procumbent 

 branching Jlems, which are only occafionally fupported by 

 neighbouring plants, or a little- afccnding at the end. From the 

 two following it differs in having oval, many-flowered heads, 

 which affume in fading a hop-like afpeft ; but they have 

 never the fhining bronzed hue of the real agrarium, though 

 the Jlandard, like that, is furrowed. The leafets are obovate, 

 emarginate, toothed, fmooth, (lightly glaucous ; their com- 

 mon footflalk much longer below the fide leaflets tiian beyond 

 them, the odd leaflet being fometimes nearly feflile. Stipulas 

 half-ovate, acute, ribbed, entire, often fringed, branches and 



Jloiuer Jlalks more or lefs hairy, efpecially upward. Heads 

 at moil half an inch long. Calyx-teeth unequal, but variable. 

 Corolla lemon-coloured, changing to a light, tawny brown ; 

 the Jlandard rounded, fl;rongly furrowed. Legume fmall, 

 elliptical, pointed, with one feed. Profeffor Martyn recom- 

 mends this fpecies to the notice of the agriculturift. Cattle 

 are fond of it, but the crop will probably not be fo abundant 

 as the Nonefuch, or Medicago lupulina. 



84. T. minus. Leffer Yellow Trefoil. Relh. Cant. 290. 

 Fl. Brit. 1403. Compend. in. Engl. Bot. t. 1256. Ait. 

 n. 55. (T. filiforme ; Fl. Brit. 793. T. filiforme ; Ehrh. 

 Herb. n. 49. T. procumbens ; Hudf. 328. Curt. Lond. 

 fafc. 5. t. 53. T. lupulinum alterum minus ; Raii Syn. 330. 

 t. 14. f. 3. "T. luteum minimum ; Ger. Em. 1 186.) — Heads 

 hemifpherical. Flower-ftalks flraight and rigid. Standard 

 nearly fmooth. Stems proftratc. Common foot Hal k very ihort 



below the leaflets Very frequent in dry gravelly paftures, 



of England, Germany, and Switzerland, flowering in June 

 and July. Root fmall, annual, often furnifliod with httle 

 flefhy knobs. Stems but little branched, from fix to twenty- 

 four inches long ; moft fucculent and brittle in the larger 

 variety, Engl. Bot. f. i, which Dr. Beeke recommends as 

 likely to prove a moft valuable plant, for cultivation in upland 

 paftures, being highly acceptable to cows and ftieep. The 

 central leaflet is elevated on a much more confiderable partial 

 ftalk than in the foregoing or the following fpecies ; while 

 the common footjlcdi, though variable, is in general remark- 

 ably ftiort. Leaflets obovate and emarginate, or obcordate, 

 ferrated. Floivers from twelve to fifteen only, pale yel- 

 low, making a little hemifpherical head, and all finally de- 

 flexed. Standard fcarcely wrinkled or furrowed. Legume 



obovate. 



