LOTUS AL'BIDUS. 
WHITISH FLOWERED LOTUS 
EXOGEN^, 
OR 
DICOTYLEDONEiE. 
Natural division 
to which 
this plant belongs. 
NATURAL ORDER, LEGUMINOS^E 
CALYCIFLOR.E 
OF 
DECANDOLLE 
Artificial divisions 
to which 
this Plant belongs. 
DIADELPHIA, 
DECANDRIA, 
OF LINNEUS 
No 211. 
GENUS. Lotus. Linnmus. Calvx quinqueclentatus vel quinquefidus. 
Corolla papilionacea; vexillum nudum ; alie vexillo sub^quilongas, a carina 
liberae^; carina alis brevior, rostrata, lateraliter nuda. Stamina diadelpba: fila- 
menta alterne apice dilatata, vexillare a basi liberum; antherse consimiles. 
Ovarium subsessile, multiovulatum. Stylus glabe, filiformis, adscendens. 
Stigaia obtusum,subcapitatum. Leguaien lineare rectum vel arcuatum, teres 
vel compressum, apterum, uniloculare vel ssepius isthmis cellulosis transverse 
divisum, bivalvatim deliiscens. Herba: suffruticesve, foliis palmatim trifo- 
liolatis, 'stipulis foliaceis, pedunculis axillaribus apice unifloris vel umbel- 
latim plurifloris, umbella folio florali subtensa. 
SPECIES. Lotus albidus (Loddiges) Herbaceus, decumbens vel sub- 
ereetus, eanescens vel demum glabratus, foliolis stipulisque oblongo-cuneatis, 
umbellis longe pedunculatis 5-6-lloris, laciniis calyeinis tubo sublongioribus, 
leguminibus reetis teretibus glabris non torulosis intus divisis. 
Character of the Genus, Lotus. Calyx five-toothed, or five 
cleft. Corolla papilionaceous, the standard without teeth or folds, 
the wings free from the keel, about as long as the standard, the keel 
shorter than the wings, beaked, Avithout lateral appendages. Sta¬ 
mens diadelphous, the filaments alternately dilated at the top, the 
upper one free from the base; the anthers all alike. Ovary nearly 
sessile, with many ovules. Style smooth, filiform, ascending. Stig¬ 
ma blunt, almost capitate. Pod linear, straight or curved, cylin¬ 
drical or flattened, wdthout wings, unilocular, or more frequently divi¬ 
ded across between the seeds by a cellular tissue, opening in two 
valves. 
Description of the Species, Lotus albidus. Stem herbaceous, 
decumbent or nearly erect, loosely branched, a foot or two high, 
Branches when young, as w^ell as the young shoots, whitish, Avith a 
short silky down, AA^hich almost disappears as the leaA^s are full grown. 
Leaves palmately trifoliolate, the common petiole three or four lines 
long, the leaflets half an inch to three quarters long, oblong, somewhat 
wedge-shaped, usually blunt, with rarely a small point, narrow^ed at the 
