( 283 .) 
TRIFO'LIUM* * 
Linnean Class and Order. DiADE'LPHiAf, Deca'ndria. 
Natural Order. Legumino's.e, Juss. Gen. PI. p. 345. — Sm. 
Gram, of Bot. p. 174. — Lindl. Syn. p. 75. ; Introd. to Nat. Syst. of 
Bot. p. 87. — Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 532. — Sm. Engl. FI. v. iii. p. 
259. — Loud. Hon. Brit. p. 509. — Don’s Gen. Syst. of Gard. and 
Bot. v. ii. p. 91. — Legumina'ce.e, Loud. Arb. Brit. p. 561. — 
Papiliona , ce.«+, Linn. — Rosales; sect. Cicerina:; subsect. 
Lotiana: ; type, Lotaceas ; subtype, Lotid.e ; Burn. Outl. of 
Bot. pp. 614, 638, 642, & 644. 
Gen. Char. Calyx (fig. 1.) inferior, tubular, permanent, 5-cleft, 
not glandular; with awl-shaped segments. Corolla (fig. 2.) of 4 
petals, which are mostly united by their long claws, permanent, 
withering ; standard (fig. 3.) reflexed ; wings (see figs. 2, 4, & 5.) 
oblong, direct, shorter than the standard ; keel of 1 petal, shorter 
than the wings and standard. Filaments, (see fig. 6.) 9 in one split 
compressed tube ; the tenth hair-like, distinct (see fig. 7). Anthers 
roundish. Germen (see fig. 7.) oblong-egg-shaped. Style (see 
fig. 7.) awl-shaped, curved upwards. Stigma simple, smooth. 
Legume (fig. 8.) small, indehiscent, often egg-shaped, with 1 or 2 
seeds, shorter than the calyx by which it is covered, seldom oblong, 
with 3 or 4 seeds, and a little longer than the calyx. Flowers in 
dense heads or spikes, bracteate, purple, white, or cream-coloured. 
Distinguished from other genera with diadelphous stamens, in the 
same class and order, by the 1-celled, 1- or 2-seeded, rarely 3- or 
4-seeded, indehiscent pod, shorter than the calyx ; the awl-shaped 
style with a simple, smooth stigma ; and the capitate or densely- 
spiked inflorescence. 
It differs from the genus Melilotus in the flowers being produced 
in a head or close spike, not in a loose raceme ; and in the legume 
being shorter than the calyx, not longer. 
Seventeen species British. 
TRIFO'LIUM PRATENSE. Meadow Trefoil. Common Purple 
Clover. Honeysuckle Trefoil. Marie Grass. 
Spec. Char. Stems ascending. Heads of Flowers dense, egg- 
shaped. Teeth of the Calyx setaceous, lower one longer than the 
rest, half as long as the tube of the corolla. Stipulas egg-shaped, 
bristle-pointed. 
Engl. Bot. t. 1770.— Mart. FI. Rust. t. 3.— Linn. Sp. PI. p. 1082.— Huds. FI. 
Angl. (2nd ed. ) p. 325. — Willd. Sp. PI. v. iii. pt. n. p. 1366. — Sm. FI. Brit. v. ii. 
p. 785. ; Engl. FI. v. iii. p. 302. — With. (7th ed.) v. iii. p. 857. — Gray’s Nat. Arr. 
v. ii. p. 599. — Lindl. Syn. p. 80. — Hook. Brit. FI. p. 328. — Lightf. FI. Scot. v. i. 
p. 404. — Sibth. FI. Oxon. p. 228. — Abb. FI. Bedf. p. 162. — Afzelius in Linn. Soc. 
Fig. 1. Calyx. — Fig. 2. Calyx and Corolla. — Fig. 3. The same, with the wings 
and keel taken off. — Fig. 4. The Wings and keel. — Fig. 5. One of the Wings, a 
little enlarged. — Fig. 6. Stamens and l’istil. — Fig. 7. Pistil, and odd Stamen. — 
Fig- 8. Legume. — Fig. 9. The same opened vertically, showing the Seed. — Fig. 10. 
A Seed. 
* From treis, Gr. three; and phyllon, Gr. a leaf; descriptive of its ternate 
leaves. Dr. Withering. Or from the Latin tri, three ; and folium, leaf . — 
Jt is the badge of the Highland clan Sinclair. 
+ See folio 77, note +. t Sec folio 117, note t. 
