. Field and woodland plants. at first, but becomesbroadly oval, with acontracted mouth, asthe fruit ripens. Thefive limbs of thecorolla are spreadingand rather deeplycleft into two parts ;and the fruit is acapsule that splits attlie top by ten teeth\\hich remain erector curve only slightlyoutwards. The plantis found principallyin fields and in openwaste ground. Our fields and|)astures are particu-larly rich in flowersof the Pea family(order Leguviinoscc)during the summermonths ; and of thesewe shall first note1 he pretty KidneyVetch or LadysFingers {AnihyllisVulneraria), which iscommon in the
. Field and woodland plants. at first, but becomesbroadly oval, with acontracted mouth, asthe fruit ripens. Thefive limbs of thecorolla are spreadingand rather deeplycleft into two parts ;and the fruit is acapsule that splits attlie top by ten teeth\\hich remain erector curve only slightlyoutwards. The plantis found principallyin fields and in openwaste ground. Our fields and|)astures are particu-larly rich in flowersof the Pea family(order Leguviinoscc)during the summermonths ; and of thesewe shall first note1 he pretty KidneyVetch or LadysFingers {AnihyllisVulneraria), which iscommon in the dry pastures of most parts of Britain. The wholeplant is covered with short silky hairs which lie close agauist thesurface ; and the stem, from six inches to over a foot in length,is either erect or spreading. The leaves are pinnately dividedinto several entire leaflets which are half an inch or more inlength, the terminal leaflet of tlie lower leaves being generallymuch larger tlian the others. The flowers, which bloom from. The White Cajipiox. MEADOWS, FIELDS AND PASTURES—SUMMER 215 June to August, are usually clustered into two dense heads atthe tip of each stalk, with a deeply-divided bract at the base ofeach head. The calyx is densely covered with silky haus ; andthe small corolla varies in colour from pale yellow to red. In the neighbourhood of cultivated fields we may frequently meet^vith the Lucerne or Purple Medick {Medicago sativa). This isnot a British plant, but it has been introduced and largely cultivated,and is commonly found asan escape. It has an erectstem, from one to two feethigh; and the flowersbloom during June andJuly, followed by smooth,spkally - twisted pods oftwo or three coils. Thisplant appears on Plate IV,Fig. 2. In the genus Melilotus,of the same order, we haveto note three species, all ofwhich agree in the followingparticulars : — They havetrifohate leaves ; and small,white or yellow flowers inlong racemes on axillarypeduncles. The calyx hasfiv
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