210 



THE PEAFLOWER TRIBE. 



about the length of the tube. Pod usu- 

 ally 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. Abun- 

 dant all over Britain. Fl. the whole sum- 

 mer. It is a very variable species, ac- 

 commodating itself to very different sta- 

 tions and climates ; and some of the races 

 appear so permanent in certain locali- 

 ties as to have been generally admitted 

 as species, but in others they run so 

 much into one another as to be abso- 

 lutely undistinguishable. The most dis- 

 tinct British forms are — 



a. Greater Lotus (L. major, Eng. Bot. t. 2091). Tall, ascending or 

 nearly erect, glabrous or slightly hairy, and luxuriant in all its parts, 

 with 6 to 12 flowers in the umbel. Calyx-teeth usually, but nob always, 

 finer and more spreading than in the smaller forms. In moist meadows, 

 along ditches, under hedges, and in rich, bushy places. 



b. Common Lotus. Low and spreading, often tufted at the base, 

 glabrous 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. Hairy Lotus. Like the common variety, but covered with long 

 spreading hairs. In dry, sunny situations, common in southern Eu- 

 rope, but rare in Britain. 



d. Narrow Lotus (L. tenuis, Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2615). Slender and 

 more branched than the common form, with very narrow leaflets. In 

 poor pastures and grassy places, chiefly in south-eastern Europe. Hare 

 in Britain, and always running much into the common form. 



Fig. 261. 



2. Slender Lotus. Lotus angustissimus, Linn. (Fig. 262.) 



(L. diffusus, Eng. Bot. t. 925.) 



An annual, more slender and branched than the common L., always 

 hairy, and with smaller leaflets. Peduncles short, the flowers scarcely 

 above half the size of those of the common L., often solitary or 2 



