292 
The BRITISH HERBAL. 
GENUS XIII. 
BIRDSFOOT. 
ORNIl'HOPODIUM, 
'T'HE flower is compofed of four petals, and is of the papilionaceous kind. The vexiJIum Is 
fmall, and cordated or heart-fafhioned at the top. The alje are oval, and fmaller than the vcxil- 
ium. The carina is very fmall and flatted. The cup Is formed of a fingle leaf, divided lightly Into 
five fegments at the edge, and it remains when the flower is tallen. The pod is long, flcndtr, and 
jointed. 
Linna?us places this among the diadelphta decandria % the threads in the flower being ten, in two af- 
fortments, nine joining together in a body, and the other fingle. 
Several flowers are in this genus placed on one receptacle ; and the pods being numerous, and of 
this fingular form, have fome refemblancc to the foot of a fmall bird ; whence the nan;e. Linnjeus 
fhortens it, and writes the word ornithopus, 
t 
DIVISION I. BRITISH SPECIES. 
Common Birdsfoot. 
Ornithopodh'.m Jiliqiiis incurvis. 
The root is long, flender, and furniflied with 
numerous fibres, with little tubercles often hang- 
ing to them. 
The firft leaves are fmall, oblong, narrowj 
and beautifully pinnated : they are of a pale 
greyifli green, and fpread themfeives in a regu- 
lar manner upon the ground. 
The ftalks rife among thefe i and are nume- 
rous, weak, and four or five inches high. 
The leaves on them are numerous, and placed 
irregularly : they are pinnated in the fame man- 
ner as thofe frorn the root, each confifting of 
t.velve or more pairs of very fmall roundifli pin- 
niE, with an odd one at the end. 
The flowers are fmall, and variegated wich 
purple, white, and yellow : they ftand in clullers 
on little footfl:alks, and have a pretty appear- 
ance. 
The pods are long, flender, and jointed, a 
little crooked, and of a pale green ; they very- 
much refemble in the clufler the foot of a fmall 
bird. 
It is common in dry, hilly pafl:ures, and flowers 
in June. Hyde-park abounds with it. 
C. Bauhine calls it Ornlthopodium minus \ and 
he defcribes a variety of it fomcwhat larger, un- 
der the name of Ornithopodium tnajus. Mofl of 
the common writers are guilty o\ the fame error : 
the plant is the fame, only more or lefs nou- 
riihcd. 
DIVISION II. FOREIGN SPECIES. 
Flat-podded Birdsfoot. 
Ornithopodium fdiquis ccmprejfis. 
The root is long, flender, and furniflaed with 
a few fibres. 
I'he firft leaves are long, narrow, and very re- 
gularly pinnated : each is compofed of ten or 
twelve pairs of fmall pin ns:, which are of an 
oval form, fharp- pointed, of a pale green co- 
lour, and a little hairy, 
The fi:alks are numerous, w-eak, and low : they 
are divided into a few branches, and are of a 
pale green. 
The leaves on thefe perfcflly refemble thofe 
from the root, and are of the fame pale green. 
The flowers ftand on long footftalks one or two 
on e.;ch j and they are fmall and yellow. 
The pods are long, flender, and crooked ; and 
they are of a dufky colour, and rough on the fur- 
face. 
The feeds are fmall and brown. 
It is common in Italy, and flowers in Au- 
guft. 
C. Bauhine calls it Ornithopodio affinis hirfuta 
ftorpioidcs. Others, Scorpioides leguminofa. 
GENUS XIV. 
PODDED MILKWORT. 
G L A U X. 
'T^PIE flower is compofed of four petals, and is of the papilionaceous form. The vcxillum is up- 
right, nipped at the top, oblong, and turned back at the edges. The alas are of an obiong 
form, and fmaller than the vexillum. The carina is nipped at the end, and is of the fame length 
with the al£E. The cup is formed of a fingle piece, divided lightly into five fegments, which are 
fmalleft on the lower fide. The pod is Ibort, and heart-fafhioned. 
Linnseus places this among the diadelphia decandria ; the threads in the flower being ten, in two di- 
•vifions, nine in one, and a fingle one in the other. 
This author joins it to the qftragalus, as of the fame genus : but they differ obvioully; the pods 
of the altrtigali'.i being oblong and obtufe, and that of the glaux fliort and pointed. 
9 DIVI- 
