PULSE FAMILY. 



99 



point; T. procumhem, L., (Low Hop Clover), usually procumbent, 

 the terminal leaflet petiolulate. They are worthless species, — which 

 are gradually extending themselves from our sea-ports to the interior 

 of the country. 



3. MELILO'TUS, Tournef. Melilot. 



[Greek, J/eZi, honey, and Lotus ; a Lotus-like plant, attractive of Bees.] 



Calyx as in Clover. Corolla deciduous. Legume longer than the calyx, 

 coriaceous, globose or ovoid, 1 -few-seeded, scarcely dehiscent. Herbs 

 becoming fragrant in drying. Flowers mostly in long spicate racemes. 

 1. 31. alba. Lam. Stem rather erect, striate ; leaflets ovate-oblong, 

 somewhat emarginately truncate at apex, mucronate, remotely dentate- 

 serrate ; racemes loose, elongated ; corolla white, the standard longer 

 than the other petals ; legume ovoid-oblong, wrinkled ; 1 - 2-seeded. 

 White-flowered Melilotus. Tree Clover. Bokhara Clover. 

 Fr. Le Melilot blanc. Germ. Weisser Steinklee. Span. Meliloto. 



Root biennial? Stem at first ascending or oblique, finally erect. 3-5 or 6 feet high, stout, 

 stria te-ribbed, smooth, paniculately branched. Lmfids an inch to an inch and a half 

 long; common pe<ioZc5 1 - 2 inches long. Racemes 2 -4 inches long, on axillary peduncles 

 1-2 inches in length. Flowers retrorsely imbricated before opening. 



Introduced, and partially cultivated. Native of Europe. Fl. June -August. Fr. 

 August - September. 



Obs. This plant has been introduced by some amateur farmers, and 

 much commended as being specially suited for soiling (or cutting, as 

 wanted, for stock that are kept up) ; but, without any practical know- 

 ledge on my part, I cannot help doubting whether so coarse a plant can 

 be as valuable as the common Red Clover. A former species of this 

 genus [M. coerulea, Lam.) — but which has been separated, and is now 

 the Trigonella coerulea, DC, a plant of strong and enduring odor — is 

 employed, in Switzerland, to give the peculiar flavor to the famous 

 Schabzieger, or (as it is usually called in the vernacular) " Sap-sago " 

 Cheese. Another species with yellow flowers [M. officinalis, Willd), is 

 also found in waste places. 



4. MEDIC A'GO, Tournef. Medick. 



[So named by the Greeks, from having been introduced by the Medes.] 



Flowers mostly as in Melilotus. Legume usually many-seeded, of various 

 forms — always more or less falcate, or spirally coiled. Leaves pinnately 

 3-foliolate. 



1. M. safiva, L. Stem erect ; leaflets obovate-oblong, dentate ; stipules 

 lanceolate, subdentate ; racemes oblong ; legumes spirally twisted, finely 

 reticulated, several-seeded. 



Cultivated Medicago. Lucerne. Spanish Trefoil. French Luzerne. 

 Fr. La Luzerne. Germ. Der Schneckenklee. Span. Alfalfa. Mielga. 



