92 iseumNOfts. 



Sandy fields: raturalized. June — Aug. Annual. St<-7ii 6 to 15 inches long, 

 branched. mim.Uly pubescent. Common petiole % to 1 Inch long. Leaflets % to 1 

 Inch long, narrow. Heads of Flcnvers twice ;i< luge U in the last, on peduncles x /i 

 to 1} ■> inches It ng. Fkmen small, pale yellow, brown when old. 



22. MELILOTUS. Tourn. Melilot. 



Gr. melt, honey, and lotus, the genus, so called. 



Flowirs much as in clover, but in spiked racemes, small. 

 Corolia deciduous. Legume coriaceous, ovoid, wrinkled, 

 longer than the calyx, 1 or few-celled. — Herbs fragrant in 

 drying, with })innately trifoliate leaves and racemose floicers. 



1. BI OFFICINALIS, Willd. Ydlov: Mdilot. Sweet Clover. 



Upriglt; leaflets obovate, obtuse, remotely serrate: spites axillary, paniculate; 

 Itgume ikeeded, rugose; style filiform, as long as the legume. 



Fields and waste places: introduced. Aug. Annual. Plant 2 to 1 fett high, 

 branched. Flowers yellow, in long racemes/ Native of Europe. 



2. M. leucaxthe, Koch. While Mdilot. 



I'prght, branched : leaflets ovate-oblong, truncate, mucronate at the apex, re- 

 motely serrate; standard longer than the keel and wings; lejumc 1 to 2 seeded, 

 pvate, green. 



Scarcely naturalized : common in cultivation. July. Aug. Stem 3 to 5 feet high. 

 Fku\rt white, on longer and less crowded racemes than the last. 



23. MEDICAGO. Linn. 



Gr. medila ; because it was introduced into Greece by the Medes. 



Flowers nearly as in Melilotus. Legume many-seeded, 

 varying in form, always falcate or twisted into a spiral. — 

 Herbs with palmatdy trifoliate leaves and more or less spiral 

 legumes, often resembling snail shells. 



1. M. lupulixa, L. Nonesuch. Black Medici-. 



Stem procumbent ; leaflets wedge-ovate, toothed at the apex; stqudes lanceolate, 

 acute, somewhat entire: floicers in capitate spikes: legume reniform, 1-seeded. 



Waste places : naturalized. June — Aug. Stem 6 to 12 inches high. Flowers 

 •mall, yellow, crowded. Legume black when ripe, short, compressed, curved or 

 kidney-shaped, 1-celled, 1-seeded. 



2. M, SATIVA, L. Lucerne. 



Irect, smooth ; leaflets ovate-oblong, toothed above, mucronate ; flowers in oblong 

 racemes ; legume spirally twisted. 



Fields and waste places, scarcely naturalized. Sometimes cultivated for green 

 fedder. June, July. Per. Stem 1 to 2 feet high. Flowers purple. 



3. M. scutellata, L. Snail. 



Pedicels 2-flowered. Legume unarmed, cochleate, orbicular, convex at the base, 

 flat above with concentric folds. Native of South Europe. Cultivated for th« 

 •uriosity of its pods, which much resemble snail shells. July. Annual. 



M. INTertexta a native of Europe, naturalized in some parts of the U. 9. with 

 yellow floweri and spirally legumes like the last is sometimes cultivated in qui 





