TRIGONELLA. 



turn fylveftre polyceraton mnjus creticum ; Breyn, Cent. 

 t. 33. f. I.) — Legumes linear, declining, comprefled, fal- 

 cate, tranfverfely /veiny, two or three on each very (hort, 

 axillary, fpinous-tipped ftalk — Native of Crete. A hardy 

 annira), cultivated in Englasd above one hundred years ago, 

 flowering in July and Auguft. Thejlem divides at the bafe 

 into feveral rather flender, fmeoth, fimple, diffufe branches, 

 a fpan long. Leaflett obovate, toothed, emarginate, equal, 

 tapering at the bafe. Flowers fmall. Legumes naked, an 

 inch and a half long, narrow, with tranfverfe, interbranch- 

 ing, but Scarcely reticulated, veins. Their length exceeds 

 that of the leaves ^nAfootJlalks. 



13. T. cornkulata. Horfe-fhoe Fenugreek. Linn. Sp. 

 PI. 1094. Willd. n. 10. Ait. n. 6. Sm. Fl. Gra;c. 

 Sibth. t. 761, unpubl. (Melilotus itahca ; Fuchf. Hili. 

 528. M. major ; Trag. Hift. 592. M. coronata ; Ger. 

 Em. 1205.) — Legumes numerous, crowded, dechning, 

 comprefFed, falcate, tranfverfely veiny, on a fpinous-tipped 

 axillary ftalk, longer than the leaves. — Native of t^e fouth 

 of Europe. A hardy annual, cultivated by Gerarde, 

 flowering in .Tune and July. The flenis are numerous, a 

 foot high, nearly ereft, zigzag, leafy, and many-flowered, 

 fmooth, or a little hairy. Stipu/as nearly entire. Lftijlets 

 obovate, toothed. Fhiver-jlalks fpreading, ftout, each 

 bearing a denfe, umbellate tuft, of about ten yellow, highly 

 fragrant Jlomers, like a little Coranilla. Corolla thrice the 

 length of the calyx. Legume only an inch long, though 

 twice as broad as the laft, which it imitates in the ilyle of 

 its veins. Seeds kidney-fhaped, rough. The modern Greeks 

 know this Trigoiiella by the name of nxaxi. Dr. Sibthorp 

 obferved it in Rhodes, the Morea, and other places in the 

 Levant. 



14. T. elatior. Tall Fenugreek. Sm. Prodr. Fl. Grac. 

 Sibth. n. 1830. Fl. Grace, t. 762. (Melilotus fyriaca 

 odora ; Lob. Ic. v. 2. 42. f. 2. Trifohum italicum, five 

 Melilotus italica, corniculis incurvis ; Bauh. Hift. v. 2. 

 372. f. 2. Lotus fylveftris, ex codice caefareo ; ibid. 373.) 

 — Legumes racemofe, pendulous, linear, flightly curved ; 

 their ftalk longer than the leaves, pointlefs. Stem ereft. 

 Stipulas lanceolate, toothed. — Found by Dr. Sibthorp in 

 Afia Minor, and the ide of Cyprus. Annual. The^^^m 

 is twice or thrice as tall as the laft, and lefs zigzag. Ltajlets 

 three or four times as large, often an inch long, obovate, 

 but varying in breadth, ftiarply toothed, except about the 

 bafe. Stipulas copioufly arKl deeply toothed, or jagged. 

 Floiuers and legumes in clufters about an inch in length ; 

 their common Jlalks of a longer proportion than the fore- 

 going, deftitute of a fpinous point. Legumes comprefled, 

 nearly or quite ftraight, and, as far as we can judge of them 

 in a half-ripe ftate, not marked with elevated veins. Seeds 

 fix or feven. A fpecimen of this is attached, in the Lin- 

 naean herbarium, to the corniculata, from whith it is very 

 diftinft, and, except its legume and. feeds, more nearly allied 

 to the Mehlots, (fee Trifolium, feft. i.) than to the 

 other TrigonelU. Dr. Sibthorp very juftly fufpefted the 

 ^iifo; ay^iiK of Diofcorides to be T. corniculata, or near it ; 

 nor can we doubt this T. elatior being the very plant. If 

 the famous old manufcript at Vienna be admitted as au- 

 thority, it confirms our opinion. The figure in John Bauhin, 

 copied from thence, though rudely and unfcientifically 

 drawn, is fufSciently indicative of this fpecies. From 

 what occurs, here and there, in the old botanical writers, 

 this Trigonella, neglefted by modern fyftematics, appears to 

 be not of rare occurrence in the fouth of Europe, and may 

 poflibly be met with in botanic gardens. It h well worthy 

 the notice of the farmer, for experiment at leaft, on ac-' 

 count of its luxuriant growth, and the qualities of many 



plants to whidi it is related ; as they may poflibly be found 

 in great perfeftion in this fpecies. 



15. T. fpkata. Spiked Fenugreek. Sm. Prodr. Fl. 

 Grace. Sibth. n. 1831. Fl. Grace, t. 763, unpubhihed. — 

 Legumes fpiked, pendulous, fhort, hairy, on a fpinous- 

 tipped axillary ftalk, longer than the leaves. Stipulas awl- 

 fliaped, entire. — Gathered by Dr. Sibthorp in the ifle of 

 Seriphus. This is an annual fpecies, with mzny Jlems, about 

 a foot high, which partakes of the fame ambiguity, refpeft- 

 ing the Melilots, as the foregoing. At leaft the fhortnefs 

 of the legume, and confequent fraall number of feeds, anfwers 

 beft to Trifolium. But we want certain information on this 

 point, having not feen any ripe fruit. The habit of tlie 

 plant, efpecially the fpinous Jlowerflalk, belongs to Trigo- 

 nella. The leaflets are half an inch in Iengt.]i, obovate- 

 oblong, narrow, fmooth, ferrated. Flowers yellow, in 

 crowded clujlers refembling fpikes, half an inch long, be- 

 coming afterwards twice that length, befet with the numer- 

 ous reflexed beaks of the crowded pendulous legumes. The 

 loweft tooth of the calyK is very^fliort ; the four otiiers long 

 and awl-fliaped. 



16. 'V . par-ulflora. Small-flowered Fenugreek. — Legumes 

 in capitate clufters, afcending, linear-lanceolate, comprefled, 

 nightly curved, with about two feeds ; their ftalk as king 

 as the leaves, pointed. Stem afcending. Stipulas ovate, 

 pointed, toothed. — Fodnd by M. Du Cros, in a meadow 

 near the mill of Coinfins, in Switzerland. Thejlems are a 

 fpan high, decumbent at the bafe. Size and afpeft of the 

 plant like T. motfpeliaca, hereafter defcribed, but fome ot 

 its charafters accora more with elatior, to which it has othei - 

 wife little refemblance. The Jlalhs, calyx, legumes, and 

 young haves, are more or lefs iilky. Leaflets broadly ob» 

 ovate, the lower ones rather quadrangular, none more than 

 half an inch long, moft of them lefs ; all toothed, ribbed, 

 of a light green. Flowers very fmall, yellow, on partial 



flalks as long as themfelves, coUefted into hemifpherical 

 filky heads. Calyx-teeth lanceolate, as long as the corolla^ 

 fomewhat unequal. Lcgvme half an inch long, curved up- 

 wards, veinlefs, contrafted at each end, containing only one 

 or Iwo fieds. This fpecies feems to have cfcaped the notice 

 of all authors that have fallen in our way. It was fent for 

 corniculata, but the legumes are totally diff"erent, and the 



flowers not a quarter fo large, neither is the flem zigzag. 



17. T. monfpeliaca. Traihrtg Fenugreek. Linn. Sp. 

 PI. 1095. Willd. n. II. Ait. n. 7. " Waldft. et 

 Kitaib. Hung. v. 2. 152. t. 142." Sm. Fl. Gra:c. Sibth. 

 t. 765, unpubliflied. ( Foenugraecum polyceraton ; Rivia. 

 Tetrap. Irr. t. 82. F. minus monfpehacum ; Breyn. Cent. 

 t. 33. f. 2. Securidacje genus triphyllon ; Bauh. Hift. 

 V. 2. 373.) — Legumes fpreading, crowded, curved, com- 

 prefl"e(!, hairy, obliquely veined, fliorter than the leaves, on 

 a very ftiort pointed ftalk. Stems proftrate. — Native of 

 the fouth of France, Hungary, Switzerland, Greece, Cy- 

 prus, and Afia Minor. A hardy annual with us, fome- 

 times cultivated for curiofity, flowering in June and July. 

 Stems quite flat on the ground, hardly a fpan long, a hltle 

 hairy, like the reft of the plant. Leafets fliarply toothed ; 

 their common footflalis an inch long. Flowers deep yellow, 

 twice the fize of the laft. Ccdyx hairy, with rather unequal 

 teeth, fcarcely half fo long as the corolla. Legumes declin- 

 ing, not an inch in length, prettily marked with oblique 

 tranfverfe ribs, and clothed with fcattcred clofe hairs. Seeds 



feveral, rough. , n j 



18. T. glabra. Smooth Cape Fenugreek. Thunb. Prodr. 

 I-J7 Willd. n. 12. — " Legumes umbellate, reflexed, 

 fmooth. Leafkts ovate, fmooth. toothed."-Found by 

 Thunberg, at the Cape of GooJ Hope. We have ^not 



