96 



WEEDS AND USEFUL PLANl'S. 



1. GENISTA, L. WoAD-WAXEN. 



[Name from the Celti'" gen^ a bush.] 



Calyx 2-lipped. Standard oblong-oval, spreading. Keel oblong, straight, 



scarcely enclosing the stamens and style. Stamens monadelphous, the 



sheath entire ; 5 alternate anthers shorter. Pod flat, several-seeded. 



Shrubby plants. Leaves simple. Flowers yellow. 



1. G. tincto'ria, L. Low, thornless, with striate angled erect branches ; 



leaves lanceolate ; flowers in spiked racemes. 



Dyer's Genista. Woad- waxen. Whin. Dyer's Green Weed. 



stem about a foot high, erect or ascending. Leaves sessile, rather distant. Flowers 

 bright yellow with a small bract at the base of each. 

 A native of Europe, Massachusetts and E. New York. June -July. 



Obs. This plant has become thoroughly naturalized in some places, especi- 

 ally in Eastern Massachusetts, where it is so abundant in some localities as 

 to give to the hill-sides a yellow appearance when in flower. It abounds in 

 coloring matter, and is used to dye wool yellow. It is said that when 

 cows feed upon it their milk becomes bitter. It has some medicinal repu- 

 tation, and is a popular remedy among the Russian peasantry for hydro- 

 phobia. * 



2. TRIFO'LIUM, L. Clover. 



[Latin, tres, three, and/oltwrn, leaf ; characteristic of the genus.] 



Calyx tubular, persistent, 5-cleft ; segments subulate. Corolla usually 

 withering ; petals more or less united, and mostly free from the stamen- 

 tube ; keel shorter than the wings and vexillum. Legume small, mem- 

 branaceous, scarcely dehiscent, 1-2- (rarely 3 - 4-) seeded, mostly 

 included in the calyx-tube. Flowers mostly in heads or spikes. Stipules 

 adnatt to the base of the petiole. 



* Florets sessile in compact heads ; corolla purple or pale pink and spotted. 

 1. T. arvense, L. Stem erect, pilose ; leaflets linear-obovate or spatu- 

 late, minutely 3-toothed at apex ; stipules narrow, subulate-acuminate ; 

 heads oblong-cylindric, softly villous ; calyx-segments longer than the 

 corolla ; petals scarcely united. 



Field Trifolium. Stone Clover. Welsh Clover. Rabbit-foot. 

 Fr. Pied de Lievre. Germ. Der Hasen Klee. Span. Pie de Liebre. 



Whole plant softly pilose. Root annual. Stem 6-12 inches high, slender, generally 

 much branched. Leaflets half an inch to an inch long ; common petioles one-fourth of an 

 inch to an inch long. Corolla inconspicuous, whitish or pale pink, with a purple spot on 

 the wings. Legume 1-seeded. » 



Sterile old fields: Canada to Florida: introduced. Native of Europe. Fl. June- 

 August. Fr. August -October. 



Obs. This species — a naturalized foreigner — is only entitled to the 

 notice of the farmer on account of its prevalence and its worthlessness. 

 Its presence is a pretty sure indication of a thin soil, and neglected Agri- 

 culture : and the appropriate remedy is to improve both. It is then 

 easily superseded by more valuable plants. 



