\ 
T R I 
The eighth fort grows naturally in Spain and Italy •, 
this rifes with a {lender ftiff ftalk near two feet high, 
garnifhed with trifoliate leaves, whofe lobes are very 
narrow like Grafs, and are hairy. The flowers are 
produced at the top of the {talks in oblong conical 
fpikes ; the indentures of their empalements end in 
long briftly hairs, which are almoft equal in length ; 
the fpikes are hairy, and the flowers of a pale red co- 
lour. It flowers and ripens its feeds about the fame 
time as the former. 
The ninth fort is the common Hare’s-foot Trefoil, 
which grows naturally upon dry gravelly land in moil: 
parts of England, and is a lure indication of the fteri- 
lity of the foil, for it is rarely feen upon good ground. 
This plant is feldom eaten by cattle, fo is unfit for 
pafture, and is only mentioned here becaufe it is fome- 
times ufed in medicine ; it is an annual plant, whofe 
root decays foon after it has perfected feeds. 
The tenth fort grows naturally on arable land in many 
parts of England ; this has trailing {talks which put 
out roots at their joints. The leaves ftand upon long 
{lender foot-ftalks ; the lobes are roundilh, and are 
fawed on their edges ; the flowers are collected in 
roundilh heads, {landing upon {lender foot-ftalks, 
which rife from the wings of the {talks ; thefe have 
bladder empalements which terminate in two teeth. 
When thefe lie on the ground, their globular heads, 
having a little blufh of red on their upper fide toward 
the fun, and the other part being white, have a great 
refemblance of Strawberries, and from thence it was 
titled Strawberry Trefoil. 
Thefe forts are frequently preferved in gardens for the 
fake of variety •, they are eaflly propagated by feeds, 
which may be fown in an open bed of ground, either 
in autumn or fpring. The plants which come up in 
autumn, will grow much larger, and flower earlier in 
the fummer than thofe which are fown in the fpring ; 
fo from thofe good feeds may be always obtained, 
whereas the other fometimes mifcarry. When the 
plants come up, they require no other care than to 
keep them clean from weeds, and thin them where 
they are too clofe. 
The eleventh fort is the common Melilot which is ufed 
in medicine ; it grows naturally among the Corn in 
many parts of England, particularly in Cambridge- 
fhire in great plenty,- where it is a molt troublefome 
weed ; for in reaping, it is fcarce poflible to feparate 
it from the Melilot, fo that it is carried in with the 
Corn •, and the feeds of the Melilot being ripe about 
the fame time with the Corn, they are threfhed out 
with it, and being heavy are difficult to feparate from 
it ; and when a few of the feeds are ground with the 
Corn, it fpoils the flour ; for the bread, or whatever 
elfe is made with it, will have a ftrong tafte like Me- 
lilot plafter. 
The roots of this plant are ftrong and ligneous, from 
which fpring out feveral {talks which rife from two 
to four feet high, according to the goodnefs of the 
land. The {talks branch out, and are garnifhed with 
trifoliate leaves, having oval fawed lobes of a deep 
green colour. The flowers are produced in long {len- 
der fpikes which fpring from the wings of the {talks ; 
they are of a bright yellow, and fhaped like the other 
butterfly flowers ; thefe are fucceeded by naked feeds 
which ripen in Auguft. 
The twelfth fort grows naturally in Bohemia and Au- 
ftria, but has been long cultivated in England as a 
medicinal plant, though at prefent it is rarely ufed ; 
it is annual. The {talks are large, hollow, and chan- 
nelled j they rife about a foot high, and fend out many 
branches, which are garnifhed with trifoliate leaves, 
whofe lobes are oval and {lightly fawed on their 
edges, {landing upon pretty long foot-ftalks. The 
flowers are colleded in oblong fpikes, which ftand 
upon very long foot-ftalks, fpringing from the wings 
of the {talks at every joint the whole length of the 
ftalk ; they are of a pale blue colour, and fhaped like 
thofe of the common Melilot; thefe appear in June 
and July, and are fucceeded by fmall yellow feeds of 
a kidney fhape, two or three being included in each 
T R I 
fliort pod ; thefe ripen the beginning of September. 
The whole plant has a very ftrong (cent like that of 
Fenugreek, and perifhes foon after the feeds are ripe. 
If the feeds of thefe forts are permitted to flatter, the 
plants will rife without care, and require no other- 
culture but to keep them clean from weeds, and thin 
them where they grow too clofe. 
TRIGONiiLLA. Lin. Gen. Plant. 804. Foenurri 
Gnecum. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 400. tab. 220. Fenu- 
greek. 
The Characters are, 
tfhc empalement of the flower is bett-Jhaped , of one leaf 
cut at the top into five almoft equal jegments . T ’he flower 
is of the butterfly kind ; the ftandard is oval , obtafe, and 
reflexed ; the two wings are oblong , reflexed, and ff read- 
ing flat like the ftandard , fo as outwardly to appear like 
a regular flower of three petals ; the keel is very Jhort , ob- 
tufe , and occupies the navel of the flower. It has ten 
floort rifling ftamina , nine of which are joined , and one 
ftands feparate , terminated by Jingle fummits , and an 
oval oblong germen , fupporting a Jingle ftyle , crowned by 
a rifling ftigma. The germen afterward turns to an ob- 
long oval pod comprejfed , and clofe filled with kidney -ft: aped 
feeds. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the third fedion of 
Linnaeus’s feventeenth dais, which includes thofe 
plants whofe flowers have ten ftamina joined in two 
bodies. 
The Species are, 
1. Trigonella ( Fcenum Gr tecum) leguminibus feflilibus 
ftridis erediufculis fubfalcatis acuminatis caule credo. 
Hort. Cliff. 229. Trigonella with fey the fhaped acute pods 
which are clofe , erect, and fit clofe to the flalks, which are 
eredl. Fcenum Grsecum fativum. C. B. P. 348. Com- 
mon or cultivated Fenugreek. 
2. Trigonella [Spina J a) leguminibus fubpedunculatis 
congeftis declinatus fubfalcatis compreflis pedunculis 
communibus fpinofis breviffirais. Lin. Sp. 1094. 
Fenugreek with foot-ftalks to the pods , which are fickle - 
fhaped and comprejfed , and the common foot-ftalks with 
jhort fpines. Foenum Grascum fylveftre pplyceration 
Creticum majus. Breyn. Cent. 79. Greater Cretan Fe- 
nugreek with many pods. 
3. Trigonflla ( Polycerates ) leguminibus feflilibus ar? 
cuatis confertis, caulibus procumbentibus. T rigonella 
with arched pods growing in clufltrs, which fit clofe to the 
flalks and trail on the ground. Foenum Graecum fylvef- 
tre alterum polyceration. C. B. P. 348. Another wild 
Fenugreek with many pods. 
4. Trigonella ( Platycarpos ) leguminibus pedunculatis 
congeftis pendulis ovalibus compreflis, caule diffufo, 
foliolis fubrotundis. Hort. Upfal. 229. Trigonella with 
cluftered, oval, comprejfed, hanging pods , having foot- 
ftalks, diffufed flalks , and roundijh lobes. Melilotus., 
fupina latifolia ftliqua lata membranacea comprefsa. 
Amman. Ruth. 151. Low broad-leaved Melilot, with 
broad, comprefj'ed , membranaceous pods. 
5. Trigonella ( Ruthenica ) leguminibus pedunculatis 
congeftis pendulis linearibus redis, foliolis fublance- 
olatis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 776. Trigonella with linear ftrait 
pods which hang down, and grow in clufters upon foot- 
ftalks, and fpear- fhaped lobes to the leaves. Melilotus 
fupina anguftifolia, medicas folio, ftliqua comprefsa. 
Amman. Ruth. 119. Low narrow-leaved Melilot with 
the appearance of Medick , and a comprejfed pod. 
The firft fort is the common Fenugreek, whofe feeds 
are ufed in medicine. Where this plant grows na- 
turally is uncertain, but it is cultivated in the fields 
in the fouth of France, and in Germany, from whence 
great quantities of the feeds are annually imported 
here for ufe. 
It is an annual plant, which rifes with a hollow, 
branching, herbaceous ftalk, a foot and a half high, 
garnifhed with trifoliate leaves placed alternately, 
whofe lobes are oblong, oval, indented on their edges, 
and have broad furrowed foot-ftalks. The flowers 
come cut fingly at each joint from the wings of the 
ftalk ; they are white, of the butterfly kind, and fit 
very clofe to the ftalk ; thefe are fucceeded by long 
compreffed pods fhaped fomewhat like a broad fword, 
6 ending 
