644 



Spotted Medick. 



rOcT. , 



and damage was obvious, and some means of eradication had 

 to be found. Experiments on eradication were carried out and 

 some success has been achieved. 



Description. — Spotted Medick (see Fig. 1) is a herbaceous 

 annual occurring by waysides, in natural grass lands, and in 

 pastures. The numerous stems spread over the surface of the 

 ground and only seldom assume an erect position. The leaves 

 are trifoliate and usually each leaflet has a dark purple spot 

 in the centre. The leaves are at first light green, and become 

 darker after flowering. The prolongation of the leaf stalk, as 

 in air medicks, projects beyond the stalks of the two side 

 leaflets carrying with it the terminal leaflet. The small yellow 

 flowers occur in pairs or a few together. The fruit consists of 

 a spirally coiled pod, the edges having a double row of long 

 curved spines, and the seeds are of a sulphur yellow colour. 



Distribution.— Spotted Medick is a native of Western and 

 Southern Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. It is found 

 generally in Central and Southern England, and occurs in 

 certain districts of Devon. It is most readily observed along 

 the roadsides, hedges and banks, but particularly in the neigh- 

 bourhood of farms and frequently near the farm buildings. 

 Its vivid green appearance and luscious growth at once mark 

 it out from the rest of the vegetation. 



In Cornwall, where it also appears, a curious story of its 

 introduction to that county still survives. A ship with a cargo 

 of Australian wool was wrecked off the coast. The wool w^as 

 washed ashore and much of it scattered and carried by various 

 means on to the land. As a result Spotted Medick gained a ' 

 footing and since then has spread through the county. Although 

 such an isolated case would not affect the whole country, yet 

 wool may play a very large part in the introduction of seed to 

 the land. 



Life History. — The plant generally appears in the early 

 spring, flow^ering, fruiting, and dying down, a second genera- 

 tion growing up during midsummer and again dying towards 

 autumn. In the mild weather of the south-west it may succeed 

 in setting seed more than twice. Three generations per annum 

 are the maximum, but two are more common. In pasture or 

 on arable land the number of generations in a year depends 

 largely on circumstances such as weather, the closeness of 

 grazing, the crop and cultivation. A plant so prolific can 

 obviously spread with great rapidity if conditions are 

 favourable. 



