100 
xxvi. leguminos^e: trifolie^e. \_Melil6tus. 
pact row of prickles. — a. prickles subulate often curved or 
booked. E. B. S. t. 2634. — /3. prickles minute straight. 
First discovered on the coast of Kent, but since found in several of 
the eastern and southern counties of England. 0. 5 — 8. — The 
legumes are beautifully reticulated, and quite unlike any of the pre- 
ceding. 
7. Melilotus Toum. Melilot. 
Cal. 5-toothed ; teeth nearly equal. Pet. distinct, deciduous. 
Keel obtuse. Legume 1- or few-seeded, indehiscent, longer than 
the cal. — Flowers in long racemes. Leaves trifoliolate. — Name : 
mel , honey , and Lotus, the genus so called. 
1. M. officinalis L. {common yellow M.) ; legumes 1 — 2-seeded 
ovate compressed pointed irregularly veined and rugose hairy, 
racemes lax, corolla more than twice as long as the calyx, petals 
all of nearly equal length, stem erect. Trifolium Sm.: E. B. 
t. 1340. 
Bushy places and way-sides, not frequent. or If. 6 — 8. — 
Stems 2 — 3 ft. high. Leaves obovate, serrate. Flowers yellow, in uni- 
lateral pedunculated axillary racemes. Legumes 3 — 4 times longer than 
the calyx, nearly twice as large as in M. alba, and less prominently 
wrinkled. — This plant while drying smells like Anthoxanthum odo- 
ratum. 
2. M. arvensis Wallr. {Field M .) ; legumes 1 — 2-seeded ovate 
obtuse mueronate transversely plicate rugose, racemes lax, 
corolla twice as long as the calyx, wings and standard equal 
longer than the keel, stem branched from the base ascending. 
E.B.S. t. 2960. 
Near Thetford and Cambridge. $. 7, 8. — Flowers yellow in 
British specimens, but sometimes found white abroad. Easily distin- 
guished when in fruit. 
3. M. * alba Lam. {white M.) ; legumes 1 — 2-seeded ovate 
obtuse mueronate reticulate-rugose glabrous, racemes lax, co- 
rolla twice as long as the calyx, keel and wings shorter than the 
standard, stem erect. M. leucantha Koch : E. B. S. t. 2689. 
M. vulgaris Brit. FI. (former editions). 
In many parts of England and Scotland, but probably introduced 
with corn or ballast. <J. 7,8. — Flowers white. 
[Af. parvi flora Desf. has been observed in various places about 
Wandsworth, but is not indigenous : it is easily recognised by its 
snbglobose very obtuse legumes which are distinctly reticulated with 
wrinkles, and contain only one large globular seed : the racemes are 
dense when in flower but afterwards elongated and lax.] 
