XXX. LEGUMINOSiE 
117 
|-| in. long, solitary or in pairs at the end of a stalk longer than 
the leaves. Calyx hell-shaped ; teeth 5, acute, the 2 upper united 
to near the tips. Petals free from the staminal tube : standard 
erect, clawed ; keel shorter than the wings. Upper stamen free, 
others united, filaments not dilated, anthers nearly uniform. 
Style glabrous, inflexed ; stigma minute. Pod glabrous, f-1 in., 
straight, tipped with the persistent style ; seeds many. 
Matiana, in damp grass, not common ; April-September. — Himalaya from 
Simla eastwards, 4000-13,000 ft. — Nilghiris, Burmah, Java, Africa. 
7. TRIGONELLA. From the Greek treis, three, and gonia , an 
angle ; referring to the triangular form of the flowers.— Asia, 
Mediterranean region, South Africa, Australia. 
Annual, fragrant herbs ; stems usually several, much branched, 
diffuse, procumbent, or erect. Leaves of 3 leaflets ; leaflets small, 
obovate, upper half toothed, lower entire, wedge-shaped, lateral 
leaflets nearly sessile, terminal one stalked, veins prominent, 
parallel, running out into small, sharp teeth ; stipules united to 
the leaf-stalk, lanceolate, entire or toothed, long-pointed. Flowers 
small, few, pale yellow, in umbels or short racemes at the end of 
axillary stalks often tipped with an awn-like point. Calyx bell- 
shaped ; teeth 5, distinct, nearly equal, very narrow, acute. 
Petals narrow : standard and wings nearly equal ; keel shorter, 
obtuse. Upper stamen nearly or quite free, others united. Style 
glabrous, slightly incurved ; stigma minute. Pod much longer 
than the calyx, flat or nearly so, straight or curved ; seeds several 
or many. 
Trigonella Foenum-grSBCUm, Linn., an erect, strongly-scented herb, is grown 
during the cold season throughout N. India as a pot-herb and occasionally 
as a fodder-crop. The seeds are used medicinally and as a spice. The plant 
was in high repute in ancient times both as food and medicine. Pod 2-3 
in. long. The Fenugreek of old authors. Native name methi from the 
Sanskrit. 
Flowers 1-4 in an umbel. Petals slightly longer than the 
calyx. 
Umbel-stalk tipped with a bristle-like awn . . 2. T. gracilis. 
Umbel -stalk not tipped with an awn. 
Calyx-teeth shorter than the tube. Pod 1-2 in. long, 
net- veined . . . . . . . 1. T. polycerata. 
Calyx-teeth much longer than the tube. Pod 4 in. 
long, parallel- veined . . . . .3 . T. pubescens. 
Flowers 6-12 in a raceme. Petals 2 or 3 times as long as 
the calyx. 
Pod straight, breadth about J of length . . 4. T. Emddi. 
Pod curved, breadth about £ of length . . 5. T. corniculata. 
1. Trigonella polycerata, Linn. ; FI. Br. Ind. ii. 87. Glabrous 
or slightly hairy ; stems slender, 6-12 in., diffuse or procumbent. 
Leaflets in. Flowers 2-4, umbellate ; umbel-stalk not awned. 
