108 THE PEAFLOWER TRIBE. Melilotus. 



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. M. 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. Fl. summer. 



2. M. arvensis, Wallr. (fig. 242). Field M. — Very near M. officinalis, 

 and perhaps a mere variety. It is 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. 



3. M. alba, Desr. (fig. 243). White if.— 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, — M. 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 trif oliolate ; 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 Trifolium, but 

 the petals are all. quite free from the staminal tube, and the pod is much 

 longer than in any Trifolium, differing from some exotic true Trigonellas 

 of the section Buceras only in being less prominently veined. 



1. T. purpurascens, Lam. (fig. 244). BircV s- foot Trig onel. — 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 Trifolium, but much exceed- 

 ing them. Seeds 6 to 8. T. ornithopodioides, DC. 



In dry sandy pastures, chiefly near the sea, in western and southern 



