Trifolium. ] XXV. PAPILIONACES. 115 
abundant as 7. procumbens, excepting “perhaps in the north. F. the 
whole season. Starved specimens of this species are much like the more 
luxuriant ones of 7’. filiforme, and chiefly distinguished by the shortness 
of the pedicels. 
21. T. filiforme, Linn. (fig. 265). Slender C._—Still more slender than 
T. minus; the stems decumbent, ascending, or erect, seldom 6 inches 
long. Leaflets usually narrower than in the last two species, the 
central one inserted immediately between the two others, excepting in 
the upper leaves of very luxuriant specimens. Flowers 2 or 3 in each 
head, or very seldom as many as 5 or 6, smaller than in 7. minus ; the 
pedicels usually about as long as the calyx. 
In sandy or stony pastures and waste places, chiefly near the sea, in 
southern Europe ; very common round the Mediterranean, and extend- 
ing up western France. Rare in Britain, but found as far north as 
Roxburghshire, and doubtfully wild further north. Fl. early summer. 
IX. LOTUS. LOTUS. 
Herbs, with pinnate leaves of 5 (rarely 4) leaflets of which 2 (or 1), 
close to the stem, take the place and appearance of stipules. Peduncles 
axillary, bearing 1 or several yellow or reddish flowers in an umbel, 
with a leaf of 3 leaflets close underit. Calyx 5-toothed. Keel pointed. 
_S$Stamens diadelphous, the upper one free from the base, and 5 of the 
filaments flattened at the top. Pod cylindrical, with several seeds. 
A well-marked genus, not very numerous in species, chiefly abundant 
in southern Europe and northern Africa, but widely spread over the 
temperate regions of the Old World and Australia. 
Perennial. Flowers usually 5 or more in the umbel . : . 1. LD. corniculatus. 
Annual. Flowers smail, seldom above 2inthe umbel . . 2. DL. angustissimus. 
1. L. corniculatus, Linn. (fig. 266). Bird’s-foot 7'refoil__Stock 
perennial, with a long taproot. Stems decumbent or ascending, from 
a few inches to near 2 feet long. Leaflets usually ovate or obovate, 
and pointed, but sometimes narrow; those which take the place of 
stipules broader than the others. Peduncles much longer than the 
leaves. Umbels of from 5 or 6 to twice that number of bright yellow 
flowers; the standard often red on the outside. Calyx-teeth about the 
length of the tube. Pod usually about an inch long. Seeds globular, 
separated by a pithy substance, which nearly fills the pod. 
In meadows and pastures, whether wet or dry, open or shaded, widely 
spread over Europe, Russian and central Asia, the East Indian 
Peninsula, and Australia, but not reaching the Arctic Circle. Abundant 
all over Britain. Fl. the whole summer. It is a very variable species, 
accommodating itself to very different stations and climates ; and some 
of the races appear so permanent in certain localities as to have been 
generally admitted as species, but in others they run so much into 
one another as to be absolutely undistinguishable. The most distinct 
British forms are— 
a. L. uliginosus, Schk. Tall, ascending or nearly erect, glabrous or 
slightly hairy, and luxuriant in all its parts, with 6 to 8 flowers in the 
umbel, Calyx-teeth usually, but not always, finer and more spreading 
than in the smaller forms. In moist meadows, along ditches, under 
hedges, and in rich, bushy places. JL. major, Sm.; Z. pilosus, Beeke. 
