141 
The flowers (fig. A) are numerous and clustered at the apex of the peduncl2 in large capitula — 
one, two, or rarely three together — with green palmate bracts at the base. The calyx is inflated, 
covered with white down, contracted at the mouth, and two-thirds as long as ths corolla. The corolla 
is always yellow, except in one variety which has a tinge of red at the apex of the keel, the colour 
sometimes extending over the whole corolla. The standard (figs. 2 and 3) is not at all conspicuous ; 
the claw is narrow, the limb obliquely ascending and embracing the anterior portion of the wings 
with ils margins and basal lobes. The wings (figs. 4 and 5) are very closely articulated with the keel 
by folds and little teeth, which dovetail into one another, so closely, that, if the wings are pressed 
down, the keel must go along with them. The stamens (fig. 6) are ten in number; all the filaments 
.cohere, almost to their ends, and form a tube completely closed (monadelphous); the free ends curve 
upwards, and lie in the beak of the keel; the anthers are club-like and packed together at a common 
level in the beak, to form, as il were, a plug, beyond which is found the shed pollen and the capitate stigma. 
The ovary is short, stalked and contains two ovules; the style, long, thread-like and thickened 
at the bend, and the stigma capitate (fig. 7). 
According to Hermann Miiller, when an insect visits the flower, il inserts its proboscis between 
the standard and the wings, in order to reach the honey. It alights upon the wings, which along with 
the keel are pressed downwards by the weight. The anthers in the beak now act like the piston in 
a pump, and the pollen is squeezed out at the apex of the keel, against the under surface of the insect’s 
body, and attached there. Later, the stigma is also protruded and receives pollen, either that from 
its own flower, or that brought from some other on the body of the insect. It is not proved that self- 
fertilization does not occur in the kidney vetch. 
The fruit is enveloped by the persistent calyx (fig. 8) which is inflated, but closed in at the 
mouth round the withered remnants of the corolla (fig. 8). Here, the calyx acts as a seed-distributor; 
heing swollen, a large surface is exposed to the wind, and the calyx with its contents is readily carried 
off. The stalk of the pod is curved thread-like, 3 mm. long, and attached about one-fourth above 
the base of the ventral suture. The pod itself is one-seeded, somewhat flattened and terminated by a 
curved beak; the margins are acule, and the surfaces finely reticulated (figs. 9 to 10). The seed (figs. 14 
and 12) is shining, mottled with yellow and green, slightly flat, ovate and somewhat depressed near 
the hilum which is round. 
Varieties. There are two important varieties. 1. Anthyllis vulneraria var. alpestris. Heg. The stems 
bear few leaves, and the flowers are usually of a light yellow colour. This variety occurs in the trans- 
alpine region, and at very high allitudes on the Alps, for example, Ltiner-See at 6800 ft., and Albula at 
7800 ft. It often forms one of the must useful plants of mountain pastures on the Alps, 
2. Anthyllis vulneraria var. rubriflora, Heg. The flowers are more or tess tinged with red, but, 
in other respects, they resemble the preceding. It occurs mainly in the transalpine region. Some 
authorities unite both varieties into a single species, called Anthyllis Dillenti, Schultes, but specific 
distinction from A. vulneraria is scarcely possible. 
The specific name, vulneraria. of this plant indicates ils reputation in pharmacy as a vulnerary. 
It is sometimes called ladies’-finger or lamb’s-toe. 
The species has only been in cultivation for about 30 years. According to Langethal, a peasant 
named Voigt noticed it growing wild on the roadsides near Groos-Elbingen in Prussia. He collected 
the seeds, sowed them on a poor sandy field, which had been marled, and obtained a good crop. He 
continued to cultivate the plant, and his neighbours soon followed his example. It soon became 
widely cultivated in the sandy districts of Magdeburg. In 1859 Langethal first heard of the cultivation 
of the plant, and received specimens from this district with stems over 2"/2 feet in length. Since 
that time, its cullivation extended North und Kast, and Voigt was well remunerated for his important 
discovery by the Prussian Government. 
Varieties. 
Name. 
History. 
