mA 5. 
116 | THE PEAFLOWER TRIBE. [ Lotus. 
close to the stem, take the place and appearance of stipules. — Peduncles 
axillary, bearing one or several yellow or reddish flowers in an umbel, with 
a leaf of 3 leaflets close under it. Calyx 5-toothed. Keel pointed. 
Stamens diadelphous, the upper one free from the base, and 5 of the fila- 
ments 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 . : .) ke ee corniculatus. 
Annual. Flowers small, seldom above 2intheumbel . - 2 L. angustissimus. 
1. G. corniculatus, Linn. (fig. 265). Common Lotus, Bird’s-foot 
Trefoil.—Stock perennial, witha 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. Jl. the whole summer. It is a very variable species, accommo- 
dating 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. I. major, Sm. 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. JZ. uliginosus, Schk. 
b. Common Lotus. Low and spreading, often tufted at the base, 
elabrous or nearly so, usually with 5 or 6 rather large flowers to the 
umbel. Leaflets broad, and often glaucous, especially near the sea, where 
they become much thicker. In open pastures and on dry, sunny banks. 
c. L. hirsutus. Like the common variety, but covered with long spreading 
hairs. In dry, sunny situations, common in southern Europe, but in 
Britain found only in Kent and Devon. 
d. LZ. tenuis, Walsat and Kit. Slender and more branched than the 
common form, with very narrow leaflets. In poor pastures and grassy 
places, chiefly in south-eastern Europe. Rare in Britain, and always 
running much into the common form. L. decumbens, Forst. 
2. L. angustissimus, Linn. (fig. 266). Slender Lotus.—An annual, 
more slender and branched than ZL. corniculatus, always hairy, and with 
smaller leaflets. Peduncles short, the flowers scarcely above half the size 
of those of Z. corniculatus, often solitary or 2 together, very seldom 3 or 
even 4 in the umbel. Calyx-teeth longer than the tube. Pod slender, 8 
or 9 lines long. 
Tn meadows, pastures, and fields, very common in southern Europe, ex- — 
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