108 THE PEAFLOWER TRIBE. 
narrower, often linear. Flowers numerous, 2 or 3 lines long, of a 
bright yellow, in long, axillary racemes. Pod oval, about 2 lines long, 
obtuse or pointed, marked with irregularly netted veins. WM. altissima, 
Thuill. 
On roadsides, banks and bushy places throughout Europe and central 
and Russian Asia, except the extreme north. Not frequent in Britain, 
and only as an introduced plant, excepting in southern England and 
on the east coast of Ireland. £1. summer. 
2. M. arvensis, Wallr. (fig. 242). Meld M.—Very near M. officinalis, 
and perhaps a mere variety. Itis usually smaller, seldom attaining 2 
feet, the leaflets rather broader, and the racemes looser, with fewer 
flowers, but the only positive distinction is in the fruit, which is — 
smaller, more like that of M. alba, and marked with transverse wrinkles. 
In flower only it is often impossible to distinguish it from M. officinalis. 
In cultivated and waste places, in central and southern Europe. In 
Britain, only in some of the eastern counties of England. fl. summer. 
38. M. alba, Desr. (fig. 243). White M.—Very like M. officinalis, but 
usually taller and of longer duration, with a harder, more wiry stem, 
and narrower leaflets, and the flowers always white. Pod variable, 
but usually smaller and more obtuse than in M™. officinalis, with the 
transverse wrinkles of M. arvensis,— WV. vulgaris, Willd., M. leucantha, 
Koch, 
As widely spread as M. officinalis over continental Europe and Asia, 
and more abundant in the south, where it is a troublesome weed in 
fields and vineyards. Occasionally found in‘ England, Ireland, and 
Scotland, but probably introduced with corn or ballast. Fl. rather late 
in summer. 
VII. TRIGONELLA. TRIGONEL. 
Herbs, with leaves pinnately trifoliolate ; the leaflets usually toothed ; 
the leafy stipules adhering to the leafstalks, the flowers axillary, solitary 
or in heads, spikes, or short racemes. Calyx 5-toothed. Keel obtuse. 
Stamens diadelphous, the upper one entirely free. Pod protruding from 
the calyx, several-seeded, either thick and narrow or elongated, or in 
exotic species flat and broad, straight or slightly curved. 
The genus is widely spread over southern Europe, Asia, and the Medi- 
terranean region, with one Australian species. The only British species is 
somewhat anomalous, and had formerly been referred to 7'rifolaum, but 
the petals are all quite free from the staminal tube, and the pod is much 
longer than in any 7'rifolium, differing from some exotic true T'rigonellas 
of the section Buceras only in being less prominently veined. 
1. T. purpurascens, Lam. (fig. 244). Bard’s-foot T'rigonel.—A little 
annual, with thickly matted spreading stems, rarely more than 2 or 3 
inches long, and usually glabrous. Leaflets inserted close together at 
the summit of the stalk, obovate or obcordate, and toothed. Flowers 
small, nearly white, solitary or 2 or 3 together in each axil, the lower 
ones nearly sessile, the upper ones on stalks of 2 to 4 or even 5 lines. 
Calyx-teeth slender. Pod narrow, slightly curved, glabrous, surrounded 
at the base by the persistent petals as in 7'rifoliwm, but much exceed- 
ing them. Seeds 6 to 8. 7. ornithopodioides, DC. 
In dry sandy pastures, chiefly near the sea, in western and southern — 
