22( I LEGUMINOSAE. 



Lug above, 2 to 3 1 /. ft. high, rigid, not succulent; pubescence of short ap- 

 p rosso d silky bain; leaves scattered; leaflets mostly 7, cuneate-oblong, 1 in. 

 long, obtuse or acute; bracts linear-setaceous, often exceeding the calyx; flowers 

 6 lines long, pale yellow, nearly sessile, in a dense raceme 1% to 7 in. long; 

 upper lip of calyx entire, not scarious, the lower 3-toothe<l. 



Stream and river beds: Contra Costa Co.; Napa Valley; Lake Co. and north- 

 ward. 



16. L. densiflorus Benth. Eesembling the last but more sparingly vil- 

 lous; stem stout, somewhat succulent, simple below, parted at the middle into 

 many spreading branches; leaflets oblong-oblanceolate, very acute, mucronate; 

 racemes 6 to 10 in. long, on long peduncles; bracts setaceous, much shorter 

 than the calyx; flowers white, yellow, or sometimes rose-color; calyx sparingly 

 pubescent, the upper lip scarious, deeply cleft, the lower long, toothed. 



Hillsides and banks of gullies: North Coast Ranges and the Sacramento Val- 

 ley southward to Southern California. Apr.-May. Flowers in this and the 

 next 6 to 8 lines long. 



17. L. microcarpus Sims. Simple or branched above, 1 to iy 2 ft. 

 high, somewhat succulent, villous throughout; leaves rather crowded; leaflets 

 usually 9, cuneate-oblong, varying at apex from acutish to obtuse or emargin- 

 ate, 1 to 2 in. long; bracts subulate-setaceous, equaling the calyx or shorter; 

 flowers short-pediceled, purplish or flesh-pink; calyx densely hirsute, upper 1'p 

 \crv short, subscarious, emarginate or cleft; Lower obscurely 2 or 3-toothed ; 

 keel slightly ciliate; pod villous, 8 lines long. 



Abundant on the plains of the Sacramento and San Joaquin; the same, thing, 

 apparently, at Alameda. Apr.-May. 



5. MEDICAGO L. Medick. 

 Serbs, the leaves and flowers essentially as in Melilotus. Blowers in short 

 spikes or loose heads. Pod small, 1 to several-seeded, incurved or coiled or 

 spirally twisted, iudehiscent. (Greek Medike, name given by Dioseorides 

 to a plant from Media, perhaps Lucern. All the species naturalized from 

 Europe.) 



Perennial; flowers blue 1. M. saliva. 



Annuals; flowers yellow. 



Pod 1-seeded, reniform, unarmed but strongly nerved 2. M. lupulina. 



Pod several-seeded, spirally coiled, margined with prickles. 



Edge of the pod keeled, not grooved between the prickles; leaflets not splotched.... 



3. M. hispida. 

 Edge of the pod furrowed between the prickles; leaflets with a large inky splotch on 



the upper face 4. M. arabica. 



Pod several-seeded, spirally coiled, unarmed 5. M. apiculata. 



1. M. sativa L. Alfalfa. Perennial from an elongated taproot, erect and 



sn th; leaflets oblong-obovate or linear-oblong, 8 to 10 lines long; flowers 



blur (5 lines long), in racemes; pod spirally twisted so as to form 2 or 3 

 complete rings or coils. 



Borders of fields, not common beyond cultivation. Native of western Asia, 

 cultivated for more than 20 centuries. , Brought into California in L854, it is 

 our "King of Forage Plants," often producing ten tons of bay per acre per 

 aniuini. Also valued as a bee plant, sometimes yielding 60 Lbs. to the acre. 

 Rarely called Lucern. 



2. M. lupulina L. Nc-NXSUCH. BLACK Mkdick. Branching from the 

 base into spreading procumbenl stems 9 to I s Ln. Long; Leaflets orbicular 

 and more or less deltoid to cuneate-obovate, i to 6 lines Long; peduncles longer 



