54 



legumin6s/E 



sessile axillary clusters of 4 — 6, bluish-purple ; pods smooth. — 

 Woods and hedges, very common. — Fl. May — August. Perennial. 



8. V. hitea (Rough-podded Yellow Vetch). — About 2 feet long, 

 prostrate; leaflets 10—14; flowers solitary, sessile, rather large, 

 pale yellow; pods hairy. — Sea-coast; rare. — Fl. June — August. 

 Perennial. 



9.* V. kevigdta (Smooth-podded Vetch), a smaller form, 

 which is glabrous, and has pale blue or whitish flowers, has been 

 found on the beach at Weymouth. 



10.* V. hybrida, differing from V. liitea in having reddish- 

 yellow flowers with a hairy standard petal, is recorded from 

 Glastonbury Tor and from Swan Pool, near Lincoln. 



11.* V. sativa (Common Vetch). — Stem stout, about 2 feet 

 high; leaflets 10 — 14, oblong, mucronate, the lower ones often 

 obcordate; stipules half-arrow-shaped, toothed at the base, often 

 with a dark blotch ; flowers large, in pairs, blue and purple or 

 red ; pods ascending, parallel to the stem, 2 — 3 in. long, linear, 

 silky. — Fields ; common as an escape, being extensively cultivated 

 as fodder for cattle. — Fl. April — June. Annual. 



12. V. angustifblia (Narrow-leaved Vetch). — A slender form, 

 closely allied to the preceding, but with very narrow leaflets, red 

 flowers, and spreading pods. Occurs truly wild. — Dry places ; 

 common. — Fl. May, June. Annual. 



**** Leaflets few : flowers few : style tufted below stigma 

 on one side 



13. V. lathy rbides (Spring Vetch). — Nearly allied to the last, 

 but very much smaller, prostrate, and rarely exceeding 6 in. in 

 length ; leaflets 2 — 6 ; stipules entire, not marked with a dark 

 spot ; flowers solitary, sessile, small, purple ; pods glabrous. — Dry 

 places ; not common. — Fl. April — June. Annual. 



19. Lathyrus (Vetchling). — Herbs, closely allied to Vicia, but 

 with fewer leaflets, broader petals, and a flattened, longitudinally 

 bearded style. (Name of Greek origin.) 



* Annuals : no true leaflets : flowers solitary 



1. L. Aphaca (Yellow Vetchling). — A pretty trailing, glabrous 

 plant, remarkable for being entirely destitute of leaflets, the place of 

 which is supplied by a pair of very large ovate-hastate stipules at the 

 base of each tendril ; flowers yellow. — Sandy and gravelly fields in 

 the south ; rare. — Fl. May — August. Annual. 



2. L. Nissblia (Crimson or Grass Vetchling). — A beautiful and 

 well-marked species, with upright slender stems, 1 — 3 feet high; 



