Division I. POLYPETALOUS EXOGENOUS PLANTS. (continued 3)

Sepals 5, persistent. Petals 5, sometimes united at base, withering after expansion. Stamens 10, usually monadelphous at base, alternately shorter. Styles 5, distinct. Pod oblong, membranaceous, 5-celled, more or less 5-lobed, each cell opening on the back; valves persistent, being fixed to the axis by the partitions. Seeds 2 or more in each cell, pendulous from the axis, anatropous, their outer coat loose and separating. Embryo large and straight in fleshy albumen; cotyledons flat.—Herbs, with sour watery juice, alternate or radical leaves, mostly of 3 obcordate leaflets, which close and droop at nightfall. Several species produce small peculiar flowers, precociously fertilized in the bud and particularly fruitful; and the ordinary flowers are often dimorphous or even trimorphous in the relative length of the stamens and styles. (Name from ὀξύς, sour.)

[*] Stemless perennials; leaves and scapes arising from a rootstock or bulb; leaflets broadly obcordate; flowers nearly 1´ broad; cells of the pod few-seeded.

1. O. Acetosélla, L. (Common Wood-Sorrel.) Rootstock creeping and scaly-toothed; scape 1-flowered (2–5´ high); petals white with reddish veins, often notched.—Deep cold woods, Mass. to Penn., L. Superior, and northward; also southward in the Alleghanies. June. (Eu.)

2. O. violàcea, L. (Violet W.) Nearly smooth; bulb scaly; scapes umbellately several-flowered (5–9´ high), longer than the leaves; petals violet.—Rocky places and open woods; most common southward. May, June.

[*][*] Stems leafy, branching; peduncles axillary; flowers yellow; cells several-seeded.

3. O. corniculàta, L. (Yellow W.) Annual or perennial by running subterranean shoots, erect or procumbent, strigose-pubescent; stipules round or truncate, ciliate; peduncles 2–6-flowered, longer than the leaves; pods elongated, erect in fruit.—Rare; on ballast, etc.; indigenous in Mo. (Bush), and southwestward. (Cosmopolitan.)

Var. strícta, Sav. Stem erect, somewhat glabrous to very villous; stipules none. (O. stricta, L.)—Common. May–Sept. Varies greatly.

4. O. recúrva, Ell. Like var. stricta of n. 3; leaflets larger (½–1½´ broad), usually with a brownish margin; flowers larger (6–8´´ long).—Penn. to S. Ill., and southward.

5. IMPÀTIENS, L. Balsam. Jewel-weed.

Calyx and corolla colored alike and not clearly distinguishable. Sepals apparently only 4; the anterior one notched at the apex and probably consisting of two combined; the posterior one (appearing anterior as the flower hangs on its stalk) largest, and forming a spurred sac. Petals 2, unequal-sided and 2-lobed (each consisting of a pair united). Stamens 5, short; filaments appendaged with a scale on the inner side, the 5 scales connivent and united over the stigma; anthers opening on the inner face. Ovary 5-celled; stigma sessile. Pod with evanescent partitions, and a thick axis bearing several anatropous seeds, 5-valved, the valves coiling elastically and projecting the seeds in bursting. Embryo straight; albumen none.—Leaves simple, alternate, without stipules, in our species ovate or oval, coarsely toothed, petioled. Flowers axillary or panicled, often of two sorts, viz.,—the larger ones, which seldom ripen seeds;—and very small ones, which are fertilized early in the bud; their floral envelopes never expand, but are forced off by the growing pod and carried upward on its apex. (Name from the sudden bursting of the pods when touched, whence also the popular appellation, Touch-me-not, or Snap-weed.)

1. I. pállida, Nutt. (Pale Touch-me-not.) Flowers pale-yellow, sparingly dotted with brownish-red; sac dilated and very obtuse, broader than long, tipped with a short incurved spur.—Moist shady places and along rills, in rich soil; most common northward. July–Sept.—Larger and greener than the next, with larger flowers, and less frequent.

2. I. fúlva, Nutt. (Spotted Touch-me-not.) Flowers orange-color, thickly spotted with reddish-brown; sac longer than broad, acutely conical, tapering into a strongly inflexed spur half as long as the sac.—Rills and shady moist places; common, especially southward. June–Sept.—Plant 2–4° high; the flowers loosely panicled, hanging gracefully on their slender nodding stalks, the open mouth of the cornucopiæ-shaped sepal upward. Spur rarely wanting. Spotless forms of both species occur.

Order 24. RUTÀCEÆ. (Rue Family.)

Plants with simple or compound leaves, dotted with pellucid glands and abounding with a pungent or bitter-aromatic acrid volatile oil, producing hypogynous almost always regular 3–5-merous flowers, the stamens as many or twice as many as the sepals (rarely more numerous); the 2–5 pistils separate or combined into a compound ovary of as many cells, raised on a prolongation of the receptacle (gynophore) or glandular disk.—Embryo large, curved or straight, usually in fleshy albumen. Styles commonly united or cohering, even when the ovaries are distinct. Fruit usually capsular. Leaves alternate or opposite. Stipules none.—A large family, chiefly of the Old World and the southern hemisphere; our two indigenous genera are

1. Xanthoxylum. Flowers diœcious; ovaries 3–5, separate, forming fleshy pods.

2. Ptelea. Flowers polygamous; ovary 2-celled, forming a samara, like that of Elm.

1. XANTHÓXYLUM, L. Prickly Ash.

Flowers diœcious. Sepals 4 or 5, obsolete in one species. Petals 4 or 5, imbricated in the bud. Stamens 4 or 5 in the sterile flowers, alternate with the petals. Pistils 2–5, separate, but their styles conniving or slightly united. Pods thick and fleshy, 2-valved, 1–2-seeded. Seed-coat crustaceous, black, smooth and shining. Embryo straight, with broad cotyledons.—Shrubs or trees, with mostly pinnate leaves, the stems and often the leafstalks prickly. Flowers small, greenish or whitish. (From ξανθός, yellow, and ξύλον, wood.)

1. X. Americànum, Mill. (Northern Prickly Ash. Toothache-tree.) Leaves and flowers in sessile axillary umbellate clusters; leaflets 2–4 pairs and an odd one, ovate-oblong, downy when young; calyx none; petals 4–5; pistils 3–5, with slender styles; pods short-stalked.—Rocky woods and river-banks; common, especially northward. April, May.—A shrub, with yellowish-green flowers appearing before the leaves. Bark, leaves, and pods very pungent and aromatic.

2. X. Clàva-Hérculis, L. (Southern P.) Glabrous; leaflets 3–8 pairs and an odd one, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, oblique, shining above; flowers in an ample terminal cyme, appearing after the leaves; sepals and petals 5; pistils 2–3, with short styles; pods sessile. (X. Carolinianum, Lam.)—Sandy coast of Virginia, and southward. June.—A small tree with very sharp prickles.

2. PTÈLEA, L. Shrubby Trefoil. Hop-tree.

Flowers polygamous. Sepals 3–5. Petals 3–5, imbricated in the bud. Stamens as many. Ovary 2-celled; style short; stigmas 2. Fruit a 2-celled and 2-seeded samara, winged all round, nearly orbicular.—Shrubs, with 3-foliolate leaves, and greenish-white small flowers in compound terminal cymes. (The Greek name of the Elm, here applied to a genus with similar fruit.)

1. P. trifoliàta, L. Leaflets ovate, pointed, downy when young.—Rocky places, Long Island to Minn., and southward. June.—A tall shrub. Fruit bitter, used as a substitute for hops. Odor of the flowers disagreeable.

Ailánthus glandulòsus, Desf., called Tree of Heaven,—but whose blossoms, especially the staminate ones, are redolent of anything but "airs from heaven,"—is much planted as a shade-tree, especially in towns, and is inclined to spread from seed. It belongs to the order Simarubaceæ, which differs from Rutaceæ in the absence of dots in the leaves. The tree is known by its very long pinnate leaves of many leaflets, and small polygamous greenish flowers in panicles, the female producing 2–5 thin, linear-oblong, veiny samaras. (Adv. from China.)

Order 25. ILICÌNEÆ. (Holly Family.)

Trees or shrubs, with small axillary 4–8-merous flowers, a minute calyx free from the 4–8-celled ovary and the 4–8-seeded berry-like drupe, the stamens as many as the divisions of the almost or quite 4–8-petalled corolla and alternate with them, attached to their very base.—Corolla imbricated in the bud. Anthers opening lengthwise. Stigmas 4–8, or united into one, nearly sessile. Seeds suspended and solitary in each cell, anatropous, with a minute embryo in fleshy albumen. Leaves simple, mostly alternate. Flowers white or greenish.—A small family, nearly related to the Gamopetalous order Ebenaceæ.

1. Ilex. Petals or corolla-lobes oval or obovate. Pedicels mostly clustered.

2. Nemopanthes. Petals linear. Pedicels solitary.

1. ÌLEX, L. Holly.

Flowers more or less diœciously polygamous. Calyx 4–6-toothed. Petals 4–6, separate, or united only at the base, oval or obovate, obtuse, spreading. Stamens 4–6. The berry-like drupe containing 4–6 little nutlets.—Leaves alternate. Fertile flowers inclined to be solitary, and the sterile or partly sterile flowers to be clustered in the axils. (The ancient Latin name of the Holly-Oak, rather than of the Holly.)

§ 1. AQUIFÒLIUM. Parts of the flower commonly in fours, sometimes in fives or sixes; drupe red, its nutlets ribbed, veiny, or 1-grooved on the back; leaves (mostly smooth) coriaceous and evergreen.

[*] Leaves armed with spiny teeth; trees.

1. I. opàca, Ait. (American Holly.) Leaves oval, flat, the wavy margins with scattered spiny teeth; flowers in loose clusters along the base of the young branches and in the axils; calyx-teeth acute.—Moist woodlands, Maine to Va., near the coast, and more common southward. June.—Tree 20–40° high; the deep green foliage less glossy than in the European Holly (I. Aquifolium, L.), the berries not so bright red, and nutlets not so veiny.

[*][*] Leaves serrate or entire, not spiny; shrubs.

2. I. Cassìne, L. (Cassena. Yaupon.) Leaves lance-ovate or elliptical, crenate (1–1½´ long); flower-clusters nearly sessile, smooth; calyx-teeth obtuse.—Virginia and southward along the coast. May.—Leaves used for tea by the people along the coast, as they were to make the celebrated black drink of the North Carolina Indians.

3. I. Dahòon, Walt. (Dahoon Holly.) Leaves oblanceolate or oblong, entire, or sharply serrate toward the apex, with revolute margins (2–3´ long), the midrib and peduncles pubescent; calyx-teeth acute.—Swamps, coast of Va. and southward. May, June.

Var. myrtifòlia, Chapm. Leaves smaller (1´ long or less) and narrower. (I. myrtifolia, Walt.)—Same habitat. May.

§ 2. PRINOÌDES. Parts of the (polygamous or diœcious) flowers in fours or fives (rarely in sixes); drupe red or purple, the nutlets striate-many-ribbed on the back; leaves deciduous; shrubs.

4. I. decídua, Walt. Leaves wedge-oblong or lance-obovate, obtusely serrate, downy on the midrib beneath, shining above, becoming thickish; peduncles of the sterile flowers longer than the petioles, of the fertile short; calyx-teeth smooth, acute.—Wet grounds, Va. to Mo., Kan., and southward. May.

5. I. montícola, Gray. Leaves ovate or lance-oblong, ample (3–5´ long), taper-pointed, thin-membranaceous, smooth, sharply serrate; fertile flowers very short-peduncled; calyx ciliate.—Damp woods, Taconic and Catskill Mountains, and Cattarangus Co., N. Y., through Penn. (east to Northampton Co.), and southward along the Alleghanies. May.

6. I. móllis, Gray. Leaves soft downy beneath, oval, ovate, or oblong, taper-pointed at both ends, especially at the apex, thin-membranaceous, sharply serrulate; sterile flowers very numerous in umbel-like clusters, the pedicels shorter than the petiole and (with the calyx) soft-downy, the fertile peduncles very short.—Burgoon's Gap, Alleghanies of Penn. (J. R. Lowrie, Porter), and along the mountains in the Southern States.—Resembles the last.

§ 3. PRÌNOS. Parts of the sterile flowers commonly in fours, fives, or sixes, those of the fertile flowers commonly in sixes (rarely in fives, sevens, or eights); nutlets smooth and even; shrubs.

[*] Leaves deciduous; flowers in sessile clusters, or the fertile solitary; fruit bright red.

7. I. verticillàta, Gray. (Black Alder. Winterberry.) Leaves oval, obovate, or wedge-lanceolate, pointed, acute at base, serrate, downy on the veins beneath; flowers all very short-peduncled.—Low grounds; common. May, June.

8. I. lævigàta, Gray. (Smooth Winterberry.) Leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, pointed at both ends, appressed-serrulate, shining above, beneath mostly glabrous; sterile flowers long-peduncled.—Wet grounds, Maine to the mountains of Va. June.—Fruit larger than in the last, ripening earlier in the autumn.

[*][*] Leaves coriaceous, evergreen and shining, often black-dotted beneath; fruit black.

9. I. glàbra, Gray. (Inkberry.) Leaves wedge-lanceolate or oblong, sparingly toothed toward the apex, smooth; peduncles (½´ long) of the sterile flowers 3–6-flowered, of the fertile 1-flowered; calyx-teeth rather blunt.—Sandy grounds, Cape Ann, Mass., to Va., and southward near the coast. June.—Shrub 2–3° high.

2. NEMOPÁNTHES, Raf. Mountain Holly.

Flowers polygamo-diœcious. Calyx in the sterile flowers of 4–5 minute deciduous teeth, in the fertile ones obsolete. Petals 4–5, oblong-linear, spreading, distinct. Stamens 4–5; filaments slender. Drupe with 4–5 bony nutlets, light red.—A much-branched shrub, with ash-gray bark, alternate and oblong deciduous leaves on slender petioles, entire or slightly toothed, smooth. Flowers on long slender axillary peduncles, solitary or sparingly clustered. (Name said by the author to mean "flower with a filiform peduncle," therefore probably composed of νῆμα, a thread, πούς, foot, and ἄνθος, flower.)

1. N. fasciculàris, Raf. (N. Canadensis, DC.)—Damp cold woods, from the mountains of Va. to Maine, Ind., Wisc., and northward. May.

Order 26. CELASTRÀCEÆ. (Staff-tree Family.)

Shrubs with simple leaves, and small regular flowers, the sepals and the petals both imbricated in the bud, the 4 or 5 perigynous stamens as many as the petals and alternate with them, inserted on a disk which fills the bottom of the calyx and sometimes covers the ovary. Seeds arilled.—Ovules one or few (erect or pendulous) in each cell, anatropous; styles united into one. Fruit 2–5-celled, free from the calyx. Embryo large, in fleshy albumen; cotyledons broad and thin. Stipules minute and fugacious. Pedicels jointed.

[*] Leaves alternate. Flowers in terminal racemes.

1. Celastrus. A shrubby climber. Fruit globose, orange, 3-valved. Aril scarlet.

[*][*] Leaves opposite. Flowers in axillary cymes or solitary.

2. Euonymus. Erect shrubs. Leaves deciduous. Fruit 3–5-lobed. 3–5-valved. Aril red.

3. Pachystima. Dwarf evergreen shrub. Flowers very small. Fruit oblong, 2-valved. Aril white.

1. CELÁSTRUS, L. Staff-tree. Shrubby Bitter-sweet.

Flowers polygamo-diœcious. Petals (crenulate) and stamens 5, inserted on the margin of a cup-shaped disk which lines the base of the calyx. Pod globose (orange-color and berry-like), 3-celled, 3-valved, loculicidal. Seeds 1 or 2 in each cell, erect, enclosed in a pulpy scarlet aril.—Leaves alternate. Flowers small, greenish, in raceme-like clusters terminating the branches. (An ancient Greek name for some evergreen, which our plant is not.)

1. C. scándens, L. (Wax-work. Climbing Bitter-sweet.) Twining shrub; leaves ovate-oblong, finely serrate, pointed.—Along streams and thickets. June.—The opening orange-colored pods, displaying the scarlet covering of the seeds, are very ornamental in autumn.

2. EUÓNYMUS, Tourn. Spindle-tree.

Flowers perfect. Sepals 4 or 5, united at the base, forming a short and flat calyx. Petals 4–5, rounded, spreading. Stamens very short, inserted on the edge or face of a broad and flat 4–5-angled disk, which coheres with the calyx and is stretched over the ovary, adhering to it more or less. Style short or none. Pod 3–5-lobed, 3–5-valved, loculicidal. Seeds 1–4 in each cell, enclosed in a red aril.—Shrubs, with 4-sided branchlets, opposite serrate leaves, and loose cymes of small flowers on axillary peduncles. (Derivation from εὖ, good, and ὄνομα, name, because it has the bad reputation of poisoning cattle. Tourn.)

1. E. atropurpùreus, Jacq. (Burning-bush. Waahoo.) Shrub tall (6–14° high) and upright; leaves petioled, oval-oblong, pointed; parts of the (dark-purple) flower commonly in fours; pods smooth, deeply lobed.—N. Y. to Wisc., Neb., and southward; also cultivated. June.—Ornamental in autumn, by its copious crimson fruit, drooping on long peduncles.

2. E. Americànus, L. (Strawberry Bush.) Shrub low, upright or straggling (2–5° high); leaves almost sessile, thickish, bright green, varying from ovate to oblong-lanceolate, acute or pointed; parts of the greenish-purple flowers mostly in fives; pods rough-warty, depressed, crimson when ripe; the aril and dissepiments scarlet.—Wooded river-banks, N. Y. to Ill., and southward. June.

Var. obovàtus, Torr. & Gray. Trailing, with rooting branches; flowering stems 1–2° high; leaves thin and dull, obovate or oblong.—Low or wet places; the commoner form.

3. PACHÝSTIMA, Raf.

Flowers perfect. Sepals and petals 4. Stamens 4, on the edge of the broad disk lining the calyx-tube. Ovary free; style very short. Pod small, oblong, 2-celled, loculicidally 2-valved. Seeds 1 or 2, enclosed in a white membranaceous many-cleft aril.—Low evergreen shrubs, with smooth serrulate coriaceous opposite leaves and very small green flowers solitary or fascicled in the axils. (Derivation obscure.)

1. P. Cánbyi, Gray. Leaves linear to linear-oblong or oblong-obovate, obtuse, 3´´–1´ long; pedicels very slender, often solitary, shorter than the leaves; fruit 2´´ long.—Mountains of S. W. Va.

Order 27. RHAMNÀCEÆ. (Buckthorn Family.)

Shrubs or small trees, with simple leaves, small and regular flowers (sometimes apetalous), with the 4 or 5 perigynous stamens as many as the valvate sepals and alternate with them, accordingly opposite the petals! Drupe or pod with only one erect seed in each cell, not arilled.—Petals folded inwards in the bud, hooded or concave, inserted along with the stamens into the edge of the fleshy disk which lines the short tube of the calyx and sometimes unites it to the lower part of the 2–5-celled ovary. Ovules solitary, anatropous. Stigmas 2–5. Embryo large, with broad cotyledons, in sparing fleshy albumen.—Flowers often polygamous, sometimes diœcious. Leaves mostly alternate; stipules small or obsolete. Branches often thorny. (Slightly bitter and astringent; the fruit often mucilaginous, commonly rather nauseous or drastic.)

[*] Calyx and disk free from the ovary.

1. Berchemia. Petals sessile, entire, as long as the calyx. Drupe with thin flesh and a 2-celled bony putamen.

2. Rhamnus. Petals small, short-clawed, notched, or none. Drupe berry-like, with 2–4 separate seed-like nutlets.

[*][*] Calyx with the disk adherent to the base of the ovary.

3. Ceanothus. Petals long-clawed, hooded. Fruit dry, at length dehiscent.

1. BERCHÈMI, Necker. Supple-Jack.

Calyx with a very short and roundish tube; its lobes equalling the 5 oblong sessile acute petals, longer than the stamens. Disk very thick and flat, filling the calyx-tube and covering the ovary. Drupe oblong, with thin flesh and a bony 2-celled putamen.—Woody high-climbing twiners, with the pinnate veins of the leaves straight and parallel, the small greenish-white flowers in small panicles. (Name unexplained, probably personal.)

1. B. volùbilis, DC. Glabrous; leaves oblong-ovate, acute, scarcely serrulate; style short.—Damp soils, Va. to Ky. and Mo., and southward. June.—Ascending tall trees. Stems tough and very lithe, whence the popular name.

2. RHÁMNUS, Tourn. Buckthorn.

Calyx 4–5-cleft; the tube campanulate, lined with the disk. Petals small, short-clawed, notched at the end, wrapped around the short stamens, or sometimes none. Ovary free, 2–4-celled. Drupe berry-like (black), containing 2–4 separate seed-like nutlets, of cartilaginous texture.—Shrubs or small trees, with loosely pinnately veined leaves, and greenish polygamous or diœcious flowers, in axillary clusters. (The ancient Greek name.)

§ 1. RHAMNUS proper. Flowers usually diœcious; nutlets and seeds deeply grooved on the back; rhaphe dorsal; cotyledons foliaceous, the margins revolute.

[*] Calyx-lobes and stamens 5; petals wanting.

1. R. alnifòlia, L'Her. A low shrub; leaves oval, acute, serrate, nearly straight-veined; fruit 3-seeded.—Swamps, Maine to Penn., Neb., and northward. June.

[*][*] Calyx-lobes, petals, and stamens 4.

R. cathártica, L. (Common Buckthorn.) Leaves ovate, minutely serrate; fruit 3–4-seeded; branchlets thorny.—Cultivated for hedges; sparingly naturalized eastward. May, June. (Nat. from Eu.)

2. R. lanceolàta, Pursh. Leaves oblong-lanceolate and acute, or on flowering shoots oblong and obtuse, finely serrulate, smooth or minutely downy beneath; petals deeply notched; fruit 2-seeded.—Hills and river-banks, Penn. (Mercersburg, Green) to Ill., Tenn., and westward. May.—Shrub tall, not thorny; the yellowish-green flowers of two forms on distinct plants, both perfect; one with short pedicels clustered in the axils and with a short included style; the other with pedicels oftener solitary, the style longer and exserted.

§ 2. FRÁNGULA. Flowers perfect; nutlets and seeds not furrowed; cotyledons flat, thick; rhaphe lateral.

3. R. Caroliniàna, Walt. Thornless shrub or small tree; leaves (3–5´ long) oblong, obscurely serrulate, nearly glabrous, deciduous; flowers 5-merous, in one form umbelled, in another solitary in the axils, short peduncled; drupe globose, 3-seeded. (Frangula Caroliniana, Gray.)—Swamps and river banks, N. J., Va. to Ky., and southward. June.

3. CEANOTHUS, L. New Jersey Tea. Red-root.

Calyx 5-lobed, incurved; the lower part cohering with the thick disk to the ovary, the upper separating across in fruit. Petals hooded, spreading, on slender claws longer than the calyx. Filaments elongated. Fruit 3-lobed, dry and splitting into its 3 carpels when ripe. Seed as in § Frangula.—Shrubby plants; flowers in little umbel-like clusters, forming dense panicles or corymbs at the summit of naked flower-branches; calyx and pedicels colored like the petals. (An obscure name in Theophrastus, probably misspelled.)

1. C. Americànus, L. (New Jersey Tea.) Leaves ovate or oblong-ovate, 3-ribbed, serrate, more or less pubescent, often slightly heart-shaped at base; common peduncles elongated.—Dry woodlands. July.—Stems 1–3° high from a dark red root; branches downy. Flowers in pretty white clusters, on leafy shoots of the same year. The leaves were used for tea during the American Revolution.

2. C. ovàtus, Desf. Leaves narrowly oval or elliptical-lanceolate, finely glandular-serrate, glabrous or nearly so, as well as the short common peduncles. (C. ovalis, Bigel.)—Dry rocks, W. Vt. and Mass. to Minn., Ill., and southwestward; rare eastward. May.

Order 28. VITÀCEÆ. (Vine Family.)

Shrubs with watery juice, usually climbing by tendrils, with small regular flowers, a minute or truncated calyx, its limb mostly obsolete, and the stamens as many as the valvate petals and opposite them! Berry 2-celled, usually 4-seeded.—Petals 4–5, very deciduous, hypogynous or perigynous. Filaments slender; anthers introrse. Pistil with a short style or none, and a slightly 2-lobed stigma; ovary 2-celled, with 2 erect anatropous ovules from the base of each cell. Seeds bony, with a minute embryo at the base of the hard albumen, which is grooved on one side.—Stipules deciduous. Leaves alternate, palmately veined or compound; tendrils and flower-clusters opposite the leaves. Flowers small, greenish, commonly polygamous. (Young shoots, foliage, etc., acid.)

[*] Ovary surrounded by a nectariferous or glanduliferous disk; plants climbing by the coiling of naked-tipped tendrils.

1. Vitis. Corolla caducous without expanding. Hypogynous glands 5, alternate with the stamens. Fruit pulpy. Leaves simple.

2. Cissus. Corolla expanding. Disk cupular. Berry with scanty pulp, inedible. Leaves simple or pinnately compound.

[*][*] No distinct hypogynous disk; plants climbing by the adhesion of the dilated tips of the tendril-branches.

3. Ampelopsis. Corolla expanding. Leaves digitate.

1. VÌTIS, Tourn. Grape.

Flowers polygamo-diœcious (some plants with perfect flowers, others staminate with at most a rudimentary ovary), 5-merous. Calyx very short, usually with a nearly entire border or none at all. Petals separating only at base and falling off without expanding. Hypogynous disk of 5 nectariferous glands alternate with the stamens. Berry pulpy. Seeds pyriform, with beak-like base.—Plants climbing by the coiling of naked-tipped tendrils. Flowers in a compound thyrse, very fragrant; pedicels mostly umbellate-clustered. Leaves simple, rounded and heart-shaped. (The classical Latin name.)

§ 1. VITIS proper. Bark loose and shreddy; tendrils forked; nodes solid.

[+] A tendril (or inflorescence) opposite each leaf.

1. V. Labrúsca, L. (Northern Fox-Grape.) Branchlets and young leaves very woolly; leaves large, entire or deeply lobed, slightly dentate, continuing rusty-woolly beneath; fertile panicles compact; berries large.—Moist thickets, N. Eng. to the Alleghany Mountains, and south to S. Car. June. Fruit ripe in Sept. or Oct., dark purple or amber-color, with a tough musky pulp. Improved by cultivation, it has given rise to the Isabella, Catawba, Concord and other varieties.

[+][+] Tendrils intermittent (none opposite each third leaf).

[++] Leaves pubescent and floccose, especially beneath and when young.

2. V. æstivàlis, Michx. (Summer Grape.) Branchlets terete; leaves large, entire or more or less deeply and obtusely 3–5-lobed, with short broad teeth, very woolly and mostly red or rusty when young; berries middle-sized, black with a bloom, in compact bunches.—Thickets; common. May, June. Berries pleasant, ripe in Sept.—V. bicolor, LeConte, has its leaves smoothish when old and pale or glaucous beneath; common north and westward.

3. V. cinèrea, Engelm. (Downy Grape.) Branchlets angular; pubescence whitish or grayish, persistent; leaves entire or slightly 3-lobed; inflorescence large and loose; berries small, black without bloom.—Central Ill. to Kan. and Tex.

[++][++] Leaves glabrous and mostly shining, or short-hairy especially on the ribs beneath, incisely lobed or undivided.

4. V. cordifòlia, Michx. (Frost or Chicken Grape.) Leaves 3–4´ wide, not lobed or slightly 3-lobed, cordate with a deep acute sinus, acuminate, coarsely and sharply toothed; stipules small; inflorescence ample, loose; berries small, black and shining, very acerb, ripening after frosts; seeds 1 or 2, rather large, with a prominent rhaphe.—Thickets and stream-banks, New Eng. to central Ill., Mo., Neb., and southward. May, June.

5. V. ripària, Michx. Differing from the last in the larger and more persistent stipules (2–3´´ long), more shining and more usually 3-lobed leaves with a broad rounded or truncate sinus and large acute or acuminate teeth, smaller compact inflorescence, and berries (4–5´´ broad) with a bloom, sweet and very juicy, ripening from July to Sept.; seeds very small; rhaphe indistinct. (V. cordifolia, var. riparia, Gray.)—Stream-banks or near water, W. New Eng. to Penn., west to Minn. and Kan. Eastward the berries are sour and ripen late.

6. V. palmàta, Vahl. Branches bright red; leaves dark green and dull, 3–5-lobed, with a broad sinus, the lobes usually long-acuminate; inflorescence large and loose; berries black, without bloom, ripening late; seeds very large and rounded; otherwise like n. 5. (V. rubra, Michx.)—Ill. and Mo.

7. V. rupéstris, Scheele. (Sand or Sugar Grape.) Usually low and bushy, often without tendrils; leaves rather small, shining, broadly cordate, abruptly pointed, with broad coarse teeth, rarely slightly lobed; berries rather small, sweet, in very small close bunches, ripe in Aug.—Mo. to Tex.; also found in Tenn., and reported from banks of the Potomac, near Washington.

§ 2. MUSCADÍNIA. Bark closely adherent on the branches; pith continuous through the nodes; tendrils simple, intermittent; seeds with transverse wrinkles on both sides.

8. V. rotundifòlia, Michx. (Muscadine, Bullace, or Southern Fox-Grape.) Leaves shining both sides, small, rounded with a heart-shaped base, very coarsely toothed with broad and bluntish teeth, seldom lobed; panicles small, densely flowered; berries large (½–¾´ in diameter), musky, purplish without a bloom, with a thick and tough skin, ripe early in autumn. (V. vulpina, Man., not L.?)—River-banks, Md. to Ky., Mo., Kan., and southward. May.—Branchlets minutely warty. This is the original of the Scuppernong Grape, etc.

2. CÍSSUS, L.

Flowers perfect or sometimes polygamous, 4-merous or (in ours) 5-merous. Petals expanding. Disk cup-shaped, surrounding the base of the ovary. Berry inedible, with scanty pulp. Seeds usually triangular-obovate.—Tendrils in our species few and mostly in the inflorescence. A vast genus, mainly tropical. (Greek name of the Ivy.)

1. C. Ampelópsis, Pers. Nearly glabrous; leaves heart-shaped or truncate at the base, coarsely and sharply toothed, acuminate, not lobed; panicle small and loose; style slender; berries of the size of a pea, 1–3-seeded, bluish or greenish. (Vitis indivisa, Willd.)—River-banks, Va. to Ill., and southward. June.

2. C. stans, Pers. Nearly glabrous, bushy and rather upright; leaves twice pinnate or ternate, the leaflets cut-toothed; flowers cymose; calyx 5-toothed; disk very thick, adherent to the ovary; berries black, obovate. (Vitis bipinnata, Torr. & Gray.)—Rich soils, Va. to Mo., and southward.

3. AMPELÓPSIS, Michx. Virginian Creeper.

Calyx slightly 5-toothed. Petals concave, thick, expanding before they fall. Disk none.—Leaves digitate, with 5 (3–7) oblong-lanceolate sparingly serrate leaflets. Flower-clusters cymose. Tendrils fixing themselves to trunks or walls by dilated sucker-like disks at their tips. (Name from ἄμπελος, a vine, and ὄψις, appearance.)

1. A. quinquefòlia, Michx. A common woody vine, in low or rich grounds, climbing extensively, sometimes by rootlets as well as by its disk-bearing tendrils, blossoming in July, ripening its small blackish berries in October. Also called American Ivy, and still less appropriately, Woodbine. Leaves turning bright crimson in autumn.

Order 29. SAPINDÀCEÆ. (Soapberry Family.)

Trees or shrubs, with simple or compound leaves, mostly unsymmetrical and often irregular flowers; the 4–5 sepals and petals imbricated in æstivation; the 5–10 stamens inserted on a fleshy (perigynous or hypogynous) disk; a 2–3-celled and -lobed ovary, with 1–2 (rarely more) ovules in each cell; and the embryo (except Staphylea) curved or convolute, without albumen.—A large and diverse order.

Suborder I. Sapindeæ. Flowers (often polygamous) mostly unsymmetrical and irregular. Stamens commonly more numerous than the petals, rarely twice as many. Ovules 1 or 2 in each cell. Embryo curved or convolute, rarely straight; cotyledons thick and fleshy.—Leaves alternate or sometimes opposite, without stipules, mostly compound.

1. Æsculus. Flowers irregular. Calyx 5-lobed. Petals 4 or 5. Stamens commonly 7. Fruit a leathery 3-valved pod. Leaves opposite, digitate.

2. Sapindus. Flowers regular. Sepals 4–5, in two rows. Petals 4–5. Stamens 8–10. Fruit a globose or 2–3-lobed berry. Leaves alternate, pinnate.

Suborder II. Acerineæ. (Maple Family.) Flowers (polygamous or diœcious) small, regular, but usually unsymmetrical. Petals often wanting. Ovary 2-lobed and 2-celled, with a pair of ovules in each cell. Fruits winged, 1-seeded. Embryo coiled or folded; the cotyledons long and thin.—Leaves opposite, simple or compound.

3. Acer. Flowers polygamous. Leaves simple.

4. Negundo. Flowers diœcious. Leaves pinnate, with 3–5 leaflets.

Suborder III. Staphyleæ. (Bladder-Nut Family.) Flowers (perfect) regular; stamens as many as the petals. Ovules 1–8 in each cell. Seeds bony, with a straight embryo in scanty albumen.—Shrubs with opposite pinnately compound leaves, both stipulate and stipellate.

5. Staphylea. Lobes of the colored calyx and petals 5, erect. Stamens 5. Fruit a 3-celled bladdery-inflated pod.

1. ǼSCULUS, L. Horse-chestnut. Buckeye.

Calyx tubular, 5-lobed, often oblique or gibbous at base. Petals 4–5, more or less unequal, with claws, nearly hypogynous. Stamens 7 (rarely 6 or 8); filaments long, slender, often unequal. Style 1; ovary 3-celled, with 2 ovules in each cell. Fruit a leathery pod, 3-celled and 3-seeded, or usually by abortion 1-celled and 1-seeded, loculicidally 3-valved. Seed very large, with thick shining coat, and a large round pale scar. Cotyledons very thick and fleshy, their contiguous faces coherent, remaining under ground in germination; plumule 2-leaved; radicle curved.—Trees or shrubs. Leaves opposite, digitate; leaflets serrate, straight-veined, like a Chestnut-leaf. Flowers in a terminal thyrse or dense panicle, often polygamous, most of them with imperfect pistils and sterile; pedicels jointed. Seeds farinaceous, but imbued with a bitter and narcotic principle. (The ancient name of some Oak or other mast-bearing tree.)

§ 1. ÆSCULUS proper. Fruit covered with prickles when young.

Æ. Hippocàstanum, L. (Common Horse-chestnut.) Corolla spreading, white spotted with purple and yellow, of 5 petals; stamens declined; leaflets 7.—Commonly planted. (Adv. from Asia via Eu.)

1. Æ. glàbra, Willd. (Fetid or Ohio Buckeye.) Stamens curved, longer than the pale yellow corolla of 4 upright petals; leaflets usually 5.—River-banks, W. Penn. to Mich., Mo., Kan., and southward. June.—A large tree; the bark exhaling an unpleasant odor, as in the rest of the genus. Flowers small, not showy.

§ 2. PÀVIA. Fruit smooth; petals 4, conniving; the 2 upper smaller and longer than the others, with a small rounded blade on a very long claw.

2. Æ. flàva, Ait. (Sweet Buckeye.) Stamens included in the yellow corolla; calyx oblong-campanulate; leaflets 5, sometimes 7, glabrous, or often minutely downy underneath.—Rich woods, Va. to Ohio, Mo., and southward. May. A large tree or a shrub.

Var. purpuráscens, Gray. Calyx and corolla tinged with flesh-color or dull purple; leaflets commonly downy beneath.—From W. Va., south and westward.

3. Æ. Pàvia, L. (Red Buckeye.) Stamens not longer than the corolla, which is bright red, as well as the tubular calyx; leaflets glabrous or soft-downy beneath.—Fertile valleys, Va., Ky., Mo., and southward. May. A shrub or small tree.

2. SAPÌNDUS, L. Soap-berry.

Flowers regular, polygamous. Sepals 4–5, imbricated in 2 rows. Petals 4–5, with a scale at the base. Stamens 8–10, upon the hypogynous disk. Ovary 3-celled, with an ascending ovule in each cell. Fruit a globose or 2–3-lobed berry, 1–3-seeded. Seed crustaceous, globose.—Trees or shrubs, with alternate abruptly pinnate leaves, and small flowers in terminal or axillary racemes or panicles. (Name a contraction of Sapo Indicus, Indian soap, having reference to the saponaceous character of the berries.)

1. S. acuminàtus, Raf. A tree 20–60° high; leaflets 4–9 pairs, obliquely lanceolate, sharply acuminate, entire, 1½–3´ long; the rhachis of the leaf not winged; flowers white, in a large panicle, fruit mostly globose, 6´´ broad. (S. marginatus of authors, not Willd.)—S. Kan. to La., Fla., and Mex.

3. ÀCER, Tourn. Maple.

Flowers polygamo-diœcious. Calyx colored, 5- (rarely 4–12-) lobed or parted. Petals either none or as many as the lobes of the calyx, equal, with short claws if any, inserted on the margin of the lobed disk, which is either perigynous or hypogynous. Stamens 3–12. Ovary 2-celled, with a pair of ovules in each cell; styles 2, long and slender, united only below, stigmatic down the inside. From the back of each carpel grows a wing, converting the fruit into two 1-seeded, at length separable samaras or keys. Embryo variously coiled or folded, with large and thin cotyledons.—Trees, or sometimes shrubs, with opposite palmately-lobed leaves, and small flowers. Pedicels not jointed. (The classical name, from the Celtic ac, hard.)

[*] Flowers in terminal racemes, greenish, appearing after the leaves; stamens 6–8.

1. A. Pennsylvánicum, L. (Striped Maple.) Leaves 3-lobed at the apex, finely and sharply doubly serrate, the short lobes taper-pointed and also serrate; racemes drooping, loose; petals obovate; fruit with large diverging wings.—Rich woods, Maine to Minn., and southward to Va., Ky., and Mo. June.—A small and slender tree, with light-green bark striped with dark lines, and greenish flowers and fruit. Also called Striped Dogwood and Moose-Wood.

2. A. spicàtum, Lam. (Mountain M.) Leaves downy beneath, 3- (or slightly 5-) lobed, coarsely serrate, the lobes taper-pointed; racemes upright, dense, somewhat compound; petals linear-spatulate; fruit with small erect or divergent wings.—Moist woods, with the same range as n. 1. June.—A tall shrub, forming clumps.

[*][*] Flowers in nearly sessile terminal and lateral umbellate-corymbs, greenish-yellow, appearing with the leaves.

3. A. saccharìnum, Wang. (Sugar or Rock M.) Leaves 3–5-lobed, with rounded sinuses and pointed sparingly sinuate toothed lobes, either heart-shaped or nearly truncate at the base, whitish and smooth or a little downy on the veins beneath; flowers from terminal leaf-bearing and lateral leafless buds, drooping on very slender hairy pedicels; calyx hairy at the apex; petals none; wings of the fruit broad, usually slightly diverging.—Rich woods, especially northward and along the mountains southward. April, May.—A large and handsome tree.

Var. nìgrum, Torr. & Gray. (Black Sugar-M.) Leaves scarcely paler beneath, but often minutely downy, the lobes wider, often shorter and entire, the sinus at the base often closed.—With the ordinary form; quite variable, sometimes appearing distinct.

[*][*][*] Flowers in umbel-like clusters arising from separate lateral buds, and much preceding the leaves; stamens 3–6.

4. A. dasycárpum, Ehrh. (White or Silver M.) Leaves very deeply 5-lobed with the sinuses rather acute, silvery-white (and when young downy) underneath, the divisions narrow, cut-lobed and toothed; flowers (greenish-yellow) on short pedicels; petals none; fruit woolly when young, with large divergent wings.—River-banks; most common southward and westward. March–April.—A fine ornamental tree.

5. A. rùbrum, L. (Red or Swamp M.) Leaves 3–5 lobed, with acute sinuses, whitish underneath; the lobes irregularly serrate and notched, acute, the middle one usually longest; petals linear-oblong; flowers (scarlet, crimson, or sometimes yellowish) on very short pedicels; but the smooth fruit on prolonged drooping pedicels.—Swamps and wet woods. April.—A small tree, with reddish twigs; the leaves varying greatly in shape, turning bright crimson in early autumn.

4. NEGÚNDO, Moench. Ash-leaved Maple. Box-Elder.

Flowers diœcious. Calyx minute, 4–5-cleft. Petals none. Stamens 4–5. Disk none.—Sterile flowers in clusters on capillary pedicels, the fertile in drooping racemes, from lateral buds. Leaves pinnate, with 3 or 5 leaflets. Fruit as in Acer. (Name unmeaning.)

1. N. aceroìdes, Moench. Leaflets smoothish when old, very veiny, ovate, pointed, toothed; fruit smooth, with large rather incurved wings.—River-banks, W. New Eng. to Dak., south and westward. April.—A small but handsome tree, with light-green twigs, and very delicate drooping clusters of small greenish flowers, rather earlier than the leaves.

5. STAPHYLÈA, L. Bladder-Nut.

Calyx deeply 5-parted, the lobes erect, whitish. Petals 5, erect, spatulate, inserted on the margin of the thick perigynous disk which lines the base of the calyx. Stamens 5, alternate with the petals. Pistil of 3 several-ovuled carpels, united in the axis, their long styles lightly cohering. Pod large, membranaceous, inflated, 3-lobed, 3-celled, at length bursting at the summit; the cells containing 1–4 bony anatropous seeds. Aril none. Embryo large and straight, in scanty albumen, cotyledons broad and thin.—Upright shrubs, with opposite pinnate leaves of 3 or 5 serrate leaflets, and white flowers in drooping raceme-like clusters, terminating the branchlets. Stipules and stipels deciduous. (Name from σταφυλή, a cluster.)

1. S. trifòlia, L. (American Bladder-nut.) Leaflets 3, ovate, pointed.—Thickets, in moist soil. May.—Shrub 10° high, with greenish striped branches.

Order 30. ANACARDIÀCEÆ. (Cashew Family.)

Trees or shrubs, with resinous or milky acrid juice, dotless alternate leaves, and small, often polygamous, regular, 5-merous flowers, but the ovary 1-celled and 1-ovuled, with 3 styles or stigmas.—Petals imbricated in the bud. Fruit mostly drupaceous. Seed without albumen, borne on a curved stalk that rises from the base of the cell. Stipules none. Juice or exhalations often poisonous.

1. RHÚS, L. Sumach.

Calyx small, 5-parted. Petals 5. Stamens 5, inserted under the edge or between the lobes of a flattened disk in the bottom of the calyx. Fruit small and indehiscent, a sort of dry drupe.—Leaves usually compound. Flowers greenish-white or yellowish. (The old Greek and Latin name.)

§ 1. RHUS proper. Fruit symmetrical, with the styles terminal.

[*] Flowers polygamous, in a terminal thyrsoid panicle; fruit globular, clothed with acid crimson hairs; stone smooth; leaves odd-pinnate. (Not poisonous.)—(§ Sumac, DC.)

1. R. týphina, L. (Staghorn Sumach.) Branches and stalks densely velvety-hairy; leaflets 11–31, pale beneath, oblong-lanceolate, pointed, serrate, rarely laciniate.—Hillsides. June.—Shrub or tree 10–30° high, with orange-colored wood. Apparently hybridizes with the next.

2. R. glàbra, L. (Smooth S.) Smooth, somewhat glaucous; leaflets 11–31, whitened beneath, lanceolate-oblong, pointed, serrate.—Rocky or barren soil. June, July.—Shrub 2–12° high. A var. has laciniate leaflets.

3. R. copallìna, L. (Dwarf S.) Branches and stalks downy; petioles wing-margined between the 9–21 oblong or ovate-lanceolate (often entire) leaflets, which are oblique or unequal at the base, smooth and shining above.—Rocky hills. July.—Shrub 1–7° high, with running roots.

[*][*] Flowers polygamous, in loose and slender axillary panicles; fruit globular, glabrous, whitish or dun-colored; the stone striate; leaves odd-pinnate or 3-foliolate, thin. (Poisonous.)—(§ Toxicodendron, DC.)

4. R. venenàta, DC. (Poison S. or Dogwood.) Smooth, or nearly so; leaflets 7–13, obovate-oblong, entire.—Swamps. June.—Shrub 6–18° high. The most poisonous species; also called Poison Elder.

5. R. Toxicodéndron, L. (Poison Ivy. Poison Oak.) Climbing by rootlets over rocks, etc., or ascending trees, or sometimes low and erect; leaflets 3, rhombic-ovate, mostly pointed, and rather downy beneath, variously notched, sinuate, or cut-lobed,—high-climbing plants (R. radìcans, L.) having usually more entire leaves.—Thickets, low grounds, etc. June.

[*][*][*] Flowers polygamo-diœcious, in small solitary or clustered spikes or heads which develop in spring before the leaves; leaves 3-foliolate; fruit as in first group. (Not poisonous).—(§ Lobadium, Torr. & Gray.)

6. R. Canadénsis, Marsh. Leaves soft-pubescent when young, becoming glabrate; leaflets rhombic-obovate or ovate, unequally cut-toothed, 1–3´ long, the terminal one cuneate at base and sometimes 3-cleft; flowers pale yellow. (R. aromatica, Ait.)—Dry rocky banks, W. Vt. to Minn., and southward.—A straggling bush, 3–7° high; the crushed leaves not unpleasantly scented.

Var. trilobàta, Gray. With smaller leaflets (½–1´ long), crenately few-lobed or incised toward the summit.—Long Pine, Neb., and common westward. Unpleasantly scented.

§ 2. CÒTINUS. Ovary becoming very gibbous in fruit, with the remains of the styles lateral; flowers in loose ample panicles, the pedicels elongating and becoming plumose; leaves simple, entire.

7. R. cotinoìdes, Nutt. Glabrous or nearly so; leaves thin, oval, 3–6´ long; flowers and fruit as in the cultivated Smoke-tree (R. Cotinus).—Mo. to Tenn., and southward.—A tree, 25–40° high.

Order 31. POLYGALÀCEÆ. (Milkwort Family.)

Plants with irregular hypogynous flowers, 4–8 diadelphous or monadelphous stamens, their 1-celled anthers opening at the top by a pore or chink, the fruit a 2-celled and 2-seeded pod.

1. POLÝGALA, Tourn. Milkwort.

Flower very irregular. Calyx persistent, of 5 sepals, of which 3 (the upper and the 2 lower) are small and often greenish, while the two lateral or inner (called wings) are much larger, and colored like the petals. Petals 3, hypogynous, connected with each other and with the stamen-tube, the middle (lower) one keel-shaped and often crested on the back. Stamens 6 or 8; their filaments united below into a split sheath, or into 2 sets, cohering more or less with the petals, free above; anthers 1-celled, often cup-shaped, opening by a hole or broad chink at the apex. Ovary 2-celled, with a single anatropous ovule pendulous in each cell; style prolonged and curved; stigma various. Fruit a small, loculicidal 2-seeded pod, usually rounded and notched at the apex, much flattened contrary to the very narrow partition. Seeds carunculate. Embryo large, straight, with flat and broad cotyledons, in scanty albumen.—Bitter plants (low herbs in temperate regions), with simple entire often dotted leaves, and no stipules; sometimes (as in the first two species) bearing cleistogamous flowers next the ground. (An old name composed of πολύς, much, and γάλα, milk, from a fancied property of its increasing this secretion.)

[*] Perennial or biennial; flowers purple or white; leaves alternate.

[+] Flowers showy, rose-purple, conspicuously crested; also bearing inconspicuous colorless cleistogamous flowers on subterranean branches.

1. P. paucifòlia, Willd. Perennial; flowering stems short (3–4´ high), from long slender prostrate or subterranean shoots, which also bear concealed fertile flowers; lower leaves small and scale-like, scattered, the upper ovate, petioled, crowded at the summit; flowers 1–3, large, peduncled; wings obovate, rather shorter than the fringe-crested keel; stamens 6; caruncle of 2 or 3 awl-shaped lobes longer than the seed.—Woods, in light soil, N. Eng. to Minn., Ill., and southward along the Alleghanies. May.—A delicate plant, with very handsome flowers, 9´´ long, rose-purple, or rarely pure white. Sometimes called Flowering Wintergreen, but more appropriately Fringed Polygala.

2. P. polýgama, Walt. Stems numerous from the biennial root, mostly simple, ascending, very leafy (6–9´ high); leaves oblanceolate or oblong; terminal raceme loosely many-flowered, the broadly obovate wings longer than the keel; stamens 8; radical flowers racemed on short subterranean runners; lobes of the caruncle 2, scale-like, shorter than the seed.—Dry sandy soil; common. July.

[+][+] Flowers white, in a solitary close spike; none cleistogamous.

3. P. Sénega, L. (Seneca Snakeroot.) Stems several from thick and hard knotty rootstocks, simple (6–12´ high); leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, with rough margins; wings round-obovate, concave; crest short; caruncle nearly as long as the seed.—Rocky soil, W. New Eng. to Minn., and southward. May, June.

Var. latifòlia, Torr. & Gray. Taller, sometimes branched; leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 2–4´ long, tapering to each end.—Md. to Mich. and Ky.

4. P. álba, Nutt. Stems several from a hard rootstock, 1° high; leaves narrowly linear, 3–12´´ long, acute; wings oblong-obovate; crest small; lobes of the caruncle half the length of the appressed-silky seed.—Neb. and Kan. to Tex.

[*][*] Annuals, with all the leaves alternate; flowers in terminal spikes, heads or racemes, purple or rose-color, in summer; none subterranean.

[+] Keel conspicuously crested; claws of the true petals united into a long and slender cleft tube much surpassing the wings.

5. P. incarnàta, L. Glaucous; stem slender, sparingly branched; leaves minute and linear-awl-shaped; spike cylindrical; flowers flesh-color; caruncle longer than the narrow stalk of the hairy seed.—Dry soil, Penn. to Wisc., Iowa, Neb., and southward; rather rare.

[+][+] Keel minutely or inconspicuously crested; the true petals not longer but mostly shorter than the wings; seed pear-shaped.

6. P. sanguínea, L. Stem sparingly branched above, leafy to the top; leaves oblong-linear; heads globular, at length oblong, very dense (4–5´´ thick), bright red-purple (rarely paler or even white); pedicels scarcely any; wings broadly ovate, closely sessile, longer than the pod; the 2-parted caruncle almost equalling the seed.—Sandy and moist ground; common.

7. P. fastigiàta, Nutt. Stem slender, at length corymbosely branched; leaves narrowly linear, acute, 3–8´´ long; spikes short and dense (3´´ in diameter); the small rose-purple flowers on pedicels of about the length of the pod; wings obovate- or oval-oblong, narrowed at the base, scarcely exceeding the pod; bracts deciduous with the flowers or fruits, caruncle as long as and nearly enveloping the stalk-like base of the minutely hairy seed.—Pine barrens of N. J. and Del. to Ky., and southward.

8. P. Nuttàllii, Torr. & Gray. Resembles the last, but usually lower; spikes cylindrical, narrow; flowers duller or greenish purple, on very short pedicels; the awl-shaped scaly bracts persistent on the axis after the flowers or fruits fall; seed very hairy, the caruncle smaller.—Dry sandy soil, coast of Mass. to Mo., and southward.—Spike sometimes rather loose.

9. P. Curtíssii, Gray. Slender (9´ high), leaves, etc., as in the two preceding, flowers rose-purple, in usually short racemes; pedicels about equalling or exceeding the persistent bracts; the narrow oblong erect wings fully twice the length of the pod; caruncle small, on one side of the stalk-like base of the very hairy seed, which is conspicuously apiculate at the broader end.—Md. to Ga.—The species was founded upon an abnormal form with elongated racemes and pedicels.

[*][*][*] Annuals with at least the lower stem-leaves whorled in fours, sometimes in fives; spikes terminating the stem and branches; fl. summer and autumn.

[+] Spikes short and thick (4–9´´ in diameter); bracts persisting after the fall of the (middle-sized) rose or greenish purple flowers; crest small.

10. P. cruciàta, L. Stems (3–10´ high) almost winged at the angles, with spreading opposite branches; leaves nearly all in fours, linear and somewhat spatulate or oblanceolate; spikes sessile or nearly so; wings broadly deltoid-ovate, slightly heart-shaped, tapering to a bristly point or rarely pointless; caruncle nearly as long as the seed.—Margin of swamps, Maine to Va. and southward near the coast, and west to Minn. and Neb.

11. P. brevifòlia, Nutt. Rather slender, branched above; leaves scattered on the branches, narrower; spikes peduncled; wings lanceolate-ovate, pointless or barely mucronate.—Margin of sandy bogs, R. I., N. J. and southward.

[+][+] Spikes slender (about 2´´ thick), the bracts falling with the flowers, which are small, greenish-white or barely tinged with purple, the crest of the keel larger.

12. P. verticillàta, L. Slender (6–10´ high), much branched; stem-leaves all whorled, those of the (mostly opposite) branches scattered, linear, acute; spikes peduncled, usually short and dense, acute; wings round, clawed; the 2-lobed caruncle half the length of the seed.—Dry soil; common.

Var. ambígua. Leaves (and branches) all scattered or the lowest in fours; spikes long-peduncled, more slender, the flowers often purplish and scattered. (P. ambigua, Nutt.)—N. Y. to Mo., and southward.

[*][*][*][*] Biennials or annuals, with alternate leaves, and yellow flowers, which are disposed to turn greenish in drying; crest small; flowering all summer.

13. P. lùtea, L. Low; flowers (bright orange-yellow) in solitary ovate or oblong heads (¾´ thick) terminating the stem or simple branches; leaves (1–2´ long) obovate or spatulate; lobes of the caruncle nearly as long as the seed.—Sandy swamps, N. J. and southward, near the coast.

14. P. ramòsa, Ell. Flowers (citron-yellow) in numerous short and dense spike-like racemes collected in a flat-topped compound cyme; leaves oblong-linear, the lowest spatulate or obovate; seeds ovoid, minutely hairy, twice the length of the caruncle.—Damp pine-barrens, Del. and southward.

15. P. cymòsa, Walt. Stem short, naked above, the numerous racemes in a usually nearly simple cyme, leaves narrow, acuminate; seeds globose, without caruncle.—Del. and southward.

Order 32. LEGUMINÒSÆ. (Pulse Family.)

Plants with papilionaceous or sometimes regular flowers, 10 (rarely 5 and sometimes many) monadelphous, diadelphous, or rarely distinct stamens, and a single simple free pistil, becoming a legume in fruit. Seeds mostly without albumen. Leaves alternate, with stipules, usually compound. One of the sepals inferior (i.e. next the bract); one of the petals superior (i.e. next the axis of the inflorescence).—A very large order (nearly free from noxious qualities), of which the principal representatives in northern temperate regions belong to the first of the three suborders it comprises.

Suborder I. Papilionaceæ. Calyx of 5 sepals, more or less united, often unequally so. Corolla inserted into the base of the calyx, of 5 irregular petals (or very rarely fewer), more or less distinctly papilionaceous, i.e. with the upper or odd petal (vexillum or standard) larger than the others and enclosing them in the bud, usually turned backward or spreading; the two lateral ones (wings) oblique and exterior to the two lower, which last are connivent and commonly more or less coherent by their anterior edges, forming the carina or keel, which usually encloses the stamens and pistil. Stamens 10, very rarely 5, inserted with the corolla, monadelphous, diadelphous (mostly with 9 united into a tube which is cleft on the upper side, and the tenth or upper one separate), or occasionally distinct. Ovary 1-celled, sometimes 2-celled by an intrusion of one of the sutures, or transversely 2–many-celled by cross-division into joints; style simple; ovules amphitropous, rarely anatropous. Cotyledons large, thick or thickish; radicle incurved.—Leaves simple or simply compound, the earliest ones in germination usually opposite, the rest alternate; leaflets almost always quite entire. Flowers perfect, solitary and axillary, or in spikes, racemes, or panicles.

I. Stamens (10) distinct.

[*] Leaves palmately 3-foliolate or simple; calyx 4–5-lobed; herbs. (Podalyrieæ.)

1. Baptisia. Pod inflated.

2. Thermopsis. Pod flat, linear.

[*][*] Leaves pinnate; calyx-teeth short. (Sophoreæ.)

3. Cladrastis. Flowers panicled, white. Pod flat. A tree.

4. Sophora. Flowers racemose, white. Pod terete, moniliform. Herbaceous.

II. Stamens monadelphous, or diadelphous (9 and 1, rarely 5 and 5); nearly distinct in n. 14.

[*] Anthers of two forms; stamens monadelphous; leaves digitate or simple; leaflets entire. (Genisteæ.)

5. Crotalaria. Calyx 5-lobed. Pod inflated. Leaves simple.

6. Genista. Calyx 2-lipped. Pod flat. Seed estrophiolate. Leaves simple. Shrubby.

7. Cytisus. Calyx 2-lipped. Pod flat. Seed strophiolate. Leaves 1–3-foliolate. Shrubby.

8. Lupinus. Calyx deeply 2-lipped. Pod flat. Leaves 7–11-foliolate.

[*][*] Anthers uniform (except in n. 13 and 29).

[+] Leaves digitately (rarely pinnately) 3-foliolate; leaflets denticulate or serrulate; stamens diadelphous, pods small, 1–few-seeded, often enclosed in the calyx or curved or coiled. (Trifolieæ.)

9. Trifolium. Flowers capitate. Pods membranaceous, 1–6-seeded. Petals adherent to the stamen-tube.

10. Melilotus. Flowers racemed. Pod coriaceous, wrinkled, 1–2-seeded.

11. Medicago. Flowers racemed or spiked. Pods curved or coiled, 1–few-seeded.

[+][+] Leaves unequally pinnate (or digitate in n. 13); pod not jointed; not twining nor climbing (except n. 20).

[++] Flowers umbellate (solitary in ours) on axillary peduncles. (Loteæ.)

12. Hosaekia. Leaves 1–3-foliolate. Peduncle leafy-bracteate. Pod linear.

[++][++] Flowers in spikes, racemes, or heads. (Galegeæ.)

[=] Herbage glandular-dotted; stamens mostly monadelphous; pod small, indehiscent, mostly 1-seeded; leaves pinnate (except in n. 13).

13. Psoralea. Corolla truly papilionaceous. Stamens 10, half of the anthers often smaller or less perfect. Leaves mostly palmately 3–5-foliolate.

14. Amorpha. Corolla of one petal! Stamens 10, monadelphous at base.

15. Dalea. Corolla imperfectly papilionaceous. Stamens 9 or 10; the cleft tube of filaments bearing 4 of the petals about its middle.

16. Petalostemon. Corolla scarcely at all papilionaceous. Stamens 5; the cleft tube of filaments bearing 4 of the petals on its summit.

[=][=] Herbage not glandular-dotted (except in n. 23); stamens mostly diadelphous; pod 2-valved, several-seeded; leaves pinnately several-foliolate; flowers racemose.

a. Wings cohering with the keel; pod flat or 4-angled; hoary perennial herbs.

17. Tephrosia. Standard broad. Pod flat. Leaflets pinnately veined.

18. Indigofera. Calyx and standard small. Pod 4-angled. Leaflets obscurely veined.

b. Flowers large and showy; standard broad; wings free; woody; leaflets stipellate.

19. Robinia. Pod flat, thin, margined on one edge. Trees or shrubs.

20. Wistaria. Pod tumid, marginless. Woody twiners; leaflets obscurely stipellate.

c. Standard narrow, erect; pod turgid or inflated; perennial herbs.

21. Astragalus. Keel not tipped with a point or sharp appendage. Pod with one or both the sutures turned in, sometimes dividing the cell lengthwise into two.

22. Oxytropis. Keel tipped with an erect point; otherwise as Astragalus.

23. Glycyrrhiza. Flowers, etc., of Astragalus. Anther-cells confluent. Pod prickly or muricate, short, nearly indehiscent.

[+][+][+] Herbs with pinnate or pinnately 1–3-foliolate leaves; no tendrils; pod transversely 2–several-jointed, the reticulated 1-seeded joints indehiscent, or sometimes reduced to one such joint. (Hedysareæ.)

[=] Leaves pinnate, with several leaflets, not stipellate.

24. Æschynomene. Stamens equally diadelphous (5 and 5). Calyx 2-lipped. Pod several-jointed; joints square.

25. Coronilla. Stamens unequally diadelphous (9 and 1). Calyx 5-toothed. Joints oblong, 4-angled. Flowers umbellate.

26. Hedysarum. Stamens unequally diadelphous (9 and 1). Calyx 5-cleft. Pod several-jointed; joints roundish.

[=][=] Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate, rarely 1-foliolate.

27. Desmodium. Stamens diadelphous (9 and 1) or monadelphous below. Calyx 2-lipped. Pod several-jointed. Flowers all of one sort and complete. Leaflets stipellate.

28. Lespedeza. Stamens diadelphous (9 and 1); anthers uniform. Pod 1–2-jointed. Flowers often of 2 sorts, the more fertile ones apetalous. Leaflets not stipellate.

29. Stylosanthes. Stamens monadelphous; anthers of 2 sorts. Pod 1–2-jointed. Calyx deciduous, the tube narrow and stalk-like. Leaflets not stipellate.

[+][+][+][+] Herbs with abruptly pinnate leaves, terminated by a tendril or bristle; stamens diadelphous; pod continuous, 2-valved, few–several-seeded. (Vicieæ.)

30. Vicia. Wings adherent to the keel. Style filiform, bearded with a tuft or ring of hairs at the apex.

31. Lathyrus. Wings nearly free. Style somewhat dilated and flattened upwards, bearded down the inner face.

[+][+][+][+][+] Twining (sometimes only trailing) herbs, leaves pinnately 3- (rarely 1- or 5–7-) foliolate; no tendrils; peduncles or flowers axillary, pod not jointed, 2-valved. (Phaseoleæ.)

[=] Leaves pinnate.

32. Apios. Herbaceous twiner; leaflets 5–7. Keel slender and much incurved or coiled.

[=][=] Leaves 3-foliolate. Ovules and seeds several. Flowers not yellow.

33. Phaseolus. Keel spirally coiled; standard recurved-spreading. Style bearded lengthwise. Flowers racemose. Seeds round-reniform.

34. Strophostyles. Keel long, strongly incurved. Style bearded lengthwise. Flowers sessile, capitate, few. Seeds oblong, mostly pubescent.

35. Centrosema. Calyx short, 5-cleft. Standard with a spur at the base; keel broad, merely incurved. Style minutely bearded next the stigma.

36. Clitoria. Calyx tubular, 5-lobed. Standard erect, spurless; keel scythe-shaped. Style bearded down the inner face.

37. Amphicarpæa. Calyx tubular, 4–5-toothed. Standard erect; keel almost straight. Style beardless. Some nearly apetalous fertile flowers next the ground.

38. Galactia. Calyx 4 cleft, the upper lobe broadest and entire. Style beardless. Bract and bractlets minute, mostly deciduous.

[=][=][=] Leaves 1–3-foliolate. Ovules and seeds only one or two. Flowers yellow.

39. Rhynchosia. Keel scythe shaped. Calyx 4–5-parted. Pod short.

Suborder II. Cæsalpinieæ. (Brasiletto Family.) Corolla perfectly or not at all papilionaceous, sometimes nearly regular, imbricated in the bud, the upper or odd petal inside and enclosed by the others, Stamens 10 or fewer, commonly distinct, inserted on the calyx. Seeds anatropous, often with albumen. Embryo straight.

[*] Flowers imperfectly papilionaceous, perfect. Trees.

40. Cercis. Calyx campanulate, 5-toothed. Pod flat, wing-margined. Leaves simple.

[*][*] Flowers not at all papilionaceous, perfect. Calyx 5-parted. Herbs.

41. Cassia. Leaves simply and abruptly pinnate, not glandular-punctate.

42. Hoffmanseggia. Leaves bipinnate, glandular-punctate.

[*][*][*] Flowers not at all papilionaceous, polygamous or diœcious. Trees.

43. Gymnocladus. Leaves all doubly pinnate. Calyx-tube elongated, at its summit bearing 5 petals resembling the calyx lobes. Stamens 10.

44. Gleditschia. Thorny; leaves simply and doubly pinnate. Calyx tube short; its lobes, petals, and the stamens 3–5.

Suborder III. Mimoseæ. (Mimosa Family.) Flower regular, small. Corolla valvate in æstivation, often united into a 4–5-lobed cup, hypogynous, as are the (often very numerous) exserted stamens. Embryo straight. Leaves twice pinnate.

45. Desmanthus. Petals distinct. Stamens 5 or 10. Pod smooth.

46. Schrankia. Petals united below into a cup. Stamens 8 or 10. Pod covered with small prickles or rough projections.

1. BAPTÍSIA, Vent. False Indigo.

Calyx 4–5-toothed. Standard not longer than the wings, its sides reflexed; keel-petals nearly separate, and, like the wings, straight. Stamens 10, distinct. Pod stalked in the persistent calyx, roundish or oblong, inflated, pointed, many seeded.—Perennial herbs, with palmately 3-foliolate (rarely simple) leaves, which generally blacken in drying, and racemed flowers. (Named from βαπτίζω, to dye, from the economical use of some species, which yield a poor indigo.)

[*] Racemes many, short and loose, terminal, often leafy at base, flowers yellow.

1. B. tinctòria, R. Br. (Wild Indigo.) Smooth and slender (2–3° high), rather glaucous; leaves almost sessile, leaflets rounded wedge-obovate (½–1½´ long), stipules and bracts minute and deciduous, pods oval-globose, on a stalk longer than the calyx.—Sandy dry soil, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Minn. and La.

[*][*] Racemes fewer, opposite the leaves.

[+] Flowers yellow.

2. B. villòsa, Ell. Sometimes soft-hairy, usually minutely pubescent when young, erect (2–3° high) with divergent branches; leaves almost sessile, leaflets wedge-lanceolate or obovate, lower stipules lanceolate and persistent, on the branchlets often small and subulate, racemes many-flowered; pedicels short; bracts subulate, mostly deciduous; pods ovoid-oblong and taper-pointed, minutely pubescent.—Va. to N. C. and Ark.

[+][+] Flowers white or cream-color.

3. B. leucophæ̀a, Nutt. Hairy, low (1° high), with divergent branches; leaves almost sessile, leaflets narrowly oblong-obovate or spatulate; stipules and bracts large and leafy, persistent; racemes long (often 1°), reclined; flowers on elongated pedicels, cream-color; pods pointed at both ends, hoary.—Mich. to Minn., south to Tex. April, May.

4. B. leucántha, Torr. & Gray. Smooth; stems, leaves, and racemes as in n. 6; stipules early deciduous; flowers white; pods oval-oblong, raised on a stalk fully twice the length of the calyx.—Alluvial soil, Ont. and Ohio to Minn., south to Fla. and La.

5. B. álba, R. Br. Smooth (1–3° high), the branches slender and widely spreading; petioles slender; stipules and bracts minute and deciduous; leaflets oblong or oblanceolate; racemes slender on a long naked peduncle; pods linear-oblong (1–1½´ long), short-stalked.—Dry soil, S. Ind. and Mo., to La., N. C., and Fla. July.

[+][+][+] Flowers indigo-blue.

6. B. austràlis, R. Br. (Blue False-Indigo.) Smooth, tall and stout (4–5°); leaflets oblong-wedge-form, obtuse; stipules lanceolate, as long as the petioles, rather persistent; raceme elongated (1–2°) and many-flowered, erect; bracts deciduous; stalk of the oval-oblong pods about the length of the calyx.—Alluvial soil, Penn. to Ga., west to S. Ind., Mo., and Ark.

2. THERMÓPSIS, R. Br.

Pod sessile or shortly stipitate in the calyx, flat, linear, straight or curved. Otherwise nearly as Baptisia.—Perennial herbs, with palmately 3-foliolate leaves and foliaceous stipules, not blackening in drying, and yellow flowers in terminal racemes. (Name from θέρμος, the lupine, and ὄψις resemblance.)

1. T. móllis, M. A. Curtis. Finely appressed-pubescent, 2–3° high; leaflets rhombic-lanceolate, 1–3´ long; stipules narrow, mostly shorter than the petiole; raceme elongated; pods narrow, short stipitate, somewhat curved, 2–4´ long.—Mountains of S. Va. and N. C.

2. T. rhombifòlia, Nutt. Low, with smaller leaves and broad conspicuous stipules; racemes short, few-flowered; pods broadly linear, spreading, usually strongly curved.—Sask. to E. Col., near or in the mountains, reported from central Kan.

3. CLADRÁSTIS, Raf. Yellow-Wood.

Calyx 5-toothed. Standard large, roundish, reflexed; the distinct keel-petals and wings straight, oblong. Stamens 10, distinct; filaments slender, incurved above. Pod short-stalked above the calyx, linear, flat, thin, marginless, 4–6-seeded, at length 2-valved.—A handsome tree, with yellow wood, smooth bark, nearly smooth pinnate leaves of 7–11 oval or ovate leaflets, and ample panicled racemes (10–20´ long) of showy white flowers drooping from the ends of the branches. Stipules obsolete. Base of the petioles hollow, enclosing the leaf buds of the next year. Bracts minute and fugacious. (Name from κλάδος, a branch, and θραυστός, brittle.)

1. C. tinctòria, Raf. Sometimes 50° high; pods 3–4´ long.—Rich hillsides, central Ky. and Tenn. to N. C. Also in cultivation. The wood yields a yellow dye.

4. SOPHÒRA, L.

Calyx bell-shaped, shortly 5-toothed. Standard rounded; keel nearly straight. Stamens distinct or nearly so. Pod coriaceous, stipitate, terete, more or less constricted between the seeds, indehiscent. Seeds subglobose.—Shrubby or ours an herbaceous perennial, the leaves pinnate with numerous leaflets, and flowers white or yellow in terminal racemes. (Said by Linnæus to be the ancient name of an allied plant.)

1. S. serícea, Nutt. Silky canescent, erect, 1° high or less; leaflets oblong-obovate, 3–6´´ long; flowers white; pods few-seeded.—Central Kan. to Col., Tex., and Ariz.

5. CROTALÀRIA, L. Rattle-box.

Calyx 5-cleft, scarcely 2-lipped. Standard large, heart-shaped; keel scythe-shaped. Sheath of the monadelphous stamens cleft on the upper side; 5 of the anthers smaller and roundish. Pod inflated, oblong, many-seeded.—Herbs with simple leaves. Flowers yellow. (Name from κρόταλον, a rattle; the loose seeds rattling in the coriaceous inflated pods.)

1. C. sagittàlis, L. Annual, hairy (3–6´ high); leaves oval or oblong-lanceolate, scarcely petioled, stipules united and decurrent on the stem, so as to be inversely arrow-shaped; peduncles few-flowered; corolla not longer than the calyx; pod blackish.—Sandy soil; Maine to Ill., Minn., Kan., and southward.

6. GENÍSTA, L. Woad-Waxen. Whin.

Calyx 2-lipped. Standard oblong-oval, spreading; keel oblong, straight, deflexed. Stamens monadelphous, the sheath entire; 5 alternate anthers shorter. Pod mostly flat and several-seeded.—Shrubby plants, with simple leaves, and yellow flowers. (Name from the Celtic gen, a bush.)

G. tinctòria, L. (Dyer's Green-weed.) Low, not thorny, with striate-angled erect branches; leaves lanceolate; flowers in spiked racemes.—Established on sterile hills, eastern N. Y. and Mass. (Adv. from Eu.)

7. CÝTISUS, Tourn. Broom.

Calyx campanulate, with 2 short broad lips. Petals broad, the keel obtuse and slightly incurved. Stamens monadelphous. Pod flat, much longer than the calyx. Seeds several, with a strophiole at the hilum.—Shrubs, with stiff green branches, leaves mostly digitately 3-foliolate, and large bright yellow flowers. (The ancient Roman name of a plant, probably a Medicago.)

C. scopàrius, Link. (Scotch Broom.) Glabrous or nearly so (3–5° high); leaflets small, obovate, often reduced to a single one; flowers solitary or in pairs, on slender pedicels, in the axils of the old leaves, forming leafy racemes along the upper branches; style very long and spirally incurved.—Va. and southward. (Nat. from Eu.)

8. LUPÌNUS, Tourn. Lupine.

Calyx very deeply 2-lipped. Sides of the standard reflexed; keel scythe-shaped, pointed. Sheath of the monadelphous stamens entire; anthers alternately oblong and roundish. Pod oblong, flattened, often knotty by constrictions between the seeds. Cotyledons thick and fleshy.—Herbs, with palmately 1–15-foliolate leaves, stipules adnate to base of the petiole, and showy flowers in terminal racemes or spikes. (Name from Lupus, a wolf, because these plants were thought to devour the fertility of the soil.)

1. L. perénnis, L. (Wild Lupine.) Perennial, somewhat hairy; stem erect (1–2°); leaflets 7–11, oblanceolate; flowers in a long raceme, showy, purplish-blue (rarely pale); pods broad, very hairy, 5–6-seeded.—Sandy soil, N. Eng. to Minn., Mo., and south to the Gulf.—Var. occidentàlis, Watson, has stems and petioles more villous.—Mich. and Wisc.

2. L. pusíllus, Pursh. Annual, low, villous; leaflets usually 5; racemes short, sessile; flowers purple or rose-color; pods oval, hirsute, 2-seeded.—Central Dak. and Kan., and westward.

9. TRIFÒLIUM, Tourn. Clover. Trefoil.

Calyx persistent, 5-cleft, the teeth bristle-form. Corolla mostly withering or persistent; the claws of all the petals, or of all except the oblong or ovate standard, more or less united below with the stamen-tube; keel short and obtuse. Tenth stamen more or less separate. Pods small and membranous, often included in the calyx, 1–6-seeded, indehiscent, or opening by one of the sutures.—Tufted or diffuse herbs. Leaves mostly palmately, sometimes pinnately 3-foliolate; leaflets usually toothed. Stipules united with the petiole. Flowers in heads or spikes. (Name from tres, three, and folium, a leaf.)

[*] Flowers sessile in dense heads; corolla purple or purplish, withering away after flowering, tubular below, the petals more or less coherent with each other.

[+] Calyx-teeth silky-plumose, longer than the whitish corolla; root annual.

T. arvénse, L. (Rabbit-foot or Stone Clover.) Silky, branching (5–10´ high); leaflets oblanceolate; heads becoming very soft-silky and grayish, oblong or cylindrical.—Old fields, etc. (Nat. from Eu.)

[+][+] Calyx scarcely hairy except a bearded ring in the throat, shorter than the rose-purple elongated-tubular corolla. (Short-lived perennials; flowers sweet-scented.)

T. praténse, L. (Red C.) Stems ascending, somewhat hairy; leaflets oval or obovate, often notched at the end and marked on the upper side with a pale spot; stipules broad, bristle-pointed; heads ovate, sessile.—Fields and meadows; largely cultivated. (Adv. from Eu.)

T. mèdium, L. (Zigzag C.) Stems zigzag, smoothish; leaflets oblong, entire, and spotless; heads mostly stalked; flowers deeper purple, otherwise too like the last.—Dry hills, N. Scotia to E. Mass. (Adv. from Eu.)

[*][*] Flowers pedicelled in umbel-like round heads on a naked peduncle, their short pedicels reflexed when old; corolla white or rose-color, withering-persistent and turning brownish in fading; the tubular portion short.

1. T. refléxum, L. (Buffalo C.) Annual or biennial; stems ascending, downy; leaflets obovate-oblong, finely toothed; stipules thin, ovate; standard rose-red, wings and keel whitish; calyx-teeth hairy; pods 3–5-seeded.—Western N. Y. and Ont. to Iowa, Kan., and southward.

2. T. stoloníferum, Muhl. (Running Buffalo-C.) Smooth, perennial; stems with long runners from the base; leaflets broadly obovate or obcordate, minutely toothed; heads loose; flowers white, tinged with purple; pods 2-seeded.—Open woodlands and prairies, Ohio and Ky., west to Iowa and Kan.

3. T. rèpens, L. (White C.) Smooth, perennial; the slender stems spreading and creeping; leaflets inversely heart-shaped or merely notched, obscurely toothed; stipules scale-like, narrow; petioles and especially the peduncles very long; heads small and loose; calyx much shorter than the white corolla; pods about 4-seeded.—Fields and copses, everywhere. Indigenous only in the northern part of our range, if at all.

4. T. Caroliniànum, Michx. Somewhat pubescent small perennial, procumbent, in tufts; leaflets wedge-obovate and slightly notched; stipules ovate, foliaceous; heads small on slender peduncles; calyx-teeth lanceolate, nearly equalling the purplish corolla; standard pointed; pods 4-seeded.—Waste ground near Philadelphia, south to Va., Fla., and Tex.

T. hýbridum, L. (Alsike C.) Resembling T. repens, but the stems erect or ascending, not rooting at the nodes; flowers rose-tinted.—Becoming common. (Nat. from Eu.)

[*][*][*] Flowers short-pedicelled in close heads, reflexed when old; corolla yellow, persistent, turning dry and chestnut-brown with age, the standard becoming hood-shaped; annuals, fl. in summer.

T. agràrium, L. (Yellow or Hop-C.) Smoothish, somewhat upright (6–12´ high); leaflets obovate-oblong, all three from the same point (palmate) and nearly sessile; stipules narrow, cohering with the petiole for more than half its length.—Sandy fields and roadsides; N. Scotia to Va.; also in western N. Y. (Nat. from Eu.)

T. procúmbens, L. (Low Hop-C.) Stems spreading or ascending, pubescent (3–6´ high); leaflets wedge-obovate, notched at the end, the lateral at a small distance from the other (pinnately 3-foliolate); stipules ovate, short.—Sandy fields and roadsides, common.—Var. mìnus, Gray, has smaller heads, the standard not much striate with age. (Nat. from Eu.)

10. MELILÒTUS, Tourn. Melilot. Sweet Clover.

Flowers much as in Trifolium, but in spike-like racemes, small; corolla deciduous, free from the stamen-tube. Pod ovoid, coriaceous, wrinkled, longer than the calyx, scarcely dehiscent, 1–2-seeded.—Annual or biennial herbs, fragrant in drying, with pinnately 3-foliolate leaves, leaflets toothed. (Name from μέλι, honey, and λωτός, some leguminous plant.)

M. officinàlis, Willd. (Yellow Melilot.) Upright (2–4° high); leaflets obovate-oblong, obtuse; corolla yellow; the petals nearly of equal length.—Waste or cultivated grounds. (Adv. from Eu.)

M. álba, Lam. (White M.) Leaflets truncate; corolla white; the standard longer than the other petals.—In similar places. (Adv. from Eu.)

11. MEDICÀGO, Tourn. Medick.

Flowers nearly as in Melilotus. Pod 1–several-seeded, scythe-shaped, incurved, or variously coiled.—Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate; leaflets toothed; stipules often cut. (Μηδική, the name of Lucerne, because it came to the Greeks from Media.)

M. satìva, L. (Lucerne. Alfalfa.) Upright, smooth, perennial; leaflets obovate-oblong, toothed; flowers (purple) racemed; pods spirally twisted.—Cultivated for green fodder; spontaneous from Mass. to Minn. and Kan. (Adv. from Eu.)

M. lupulìna, L. (Black Medick. Nonesuch.) Procumbent, pubescent, annual; leaflets wedge-obovate, toothed at the apex; flowers in short spikes (yellow); pods kidney-form, 1-seeded.—Waste places, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Mich., Iowa, and Mo. (Adv. from Eu.)

M. maculàta, Willd. (Spotted Medick.) Spreading or procumbent annual, somewhat pubescent; leaflets obcordate, with a purple spot, minutely toothed; peduncles 3–5-flowered; flowers yellow; pods compactly spiral, of 2 or 3 turns, compressed, furrowed on the thick edge, and fringed with a double row of curved prickles.—N. Brunswick to Mass. (Adv. from Eu.)

M. denticulàta, Willd. Nearly glabrous; pods loosely spiral, deeply reticulated, and with a thin keeled edge; otherwise like the last, and with the same range. (Adv. from Eu.)

12. HOSÁCKIA, Douglas.

Calyx-teeth nearly equal. Petals free from the diadelphous stamens; standard ovate or roundish, its claw often remote from the others; wings obovate or oblong; keel incurved. Pod linear, compressed or somewhat terete, sessile, several-seeded.—Herbs, with pinnate leaves (in ours 1–3-foliolate, with gland-like stipules), and small yellow or reddish flowers in umbels (ours solitary) upon axillary leafy-bracteate peduncles. (Named for Dr. David Hosack, of New York.)

1. H. Purshiàna, Benth. Annual, more or less silky-villous or glabrous, often 1° high or more; leaves nearly sessile, the 1–3 leaflets ovate to lanceolate (3–9´´ long); peduncles often short, bracteate with a single leaflet.—N. C.; S. W. Minn. to Ark., and west to the Pacific. Very variable.

13. PSORÀLEA, L.

Calyx 5-cleft, persistent, the lower lobe longest. Stamens diadelphous or sometimes monadelphous. Pod seldom longer than the calyx, thick, often wrinkled, indehiscent, 1-seeded.—Perennial herbs, usually sprinkled all over or roughened (especially the calyx, pods, etc.) with glandular dots or points. Leaves mostly 3–5-foliolate. Flowers spiked or racemed, white or mostly blue-purplish. Root sometimes tuberous and farinaceous. (Name, ψωραλέος, scurfy, from the glands or dots.)

[*] Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate.

1. P. Onóbrychis, Nutt. Nearly smooth and free from glands, erect (3–5° high); leaflets lanceolate-ovate, taper-pointed (3´ long); stipules and bracts awl-shaped; racemes elongated; peduncle shorter than the leaves; pods roughened and wrinkled.—River-banks, Ohio to Ill. and Mo.; also south and east to S. C. July.

2. P. stipulàta, Torr. & Gray. Nearly smooth and glandless; stems diffuse; leaflets ovate-elliptical, reticulated; stipules ovate; flowers in heads on rather short peduncles; bracts broadly ovate, sharp-pointed.—Rocks, S. Ind. and Ky. June, July.

3. P. melilotoìdes, Michx. Somewhat pubescent, more or less glandular; stems erect (1–2° high), slender; leaflets lanceolate or narrowly oblong; spikes oblong, long-peduncled; stipules awl-shaped; bracts ovate or lanceolate, taper-pointed; pods strongly wrinkled transversely.—Dry soil, Fla. to Tenn., S. Ind. and Kan. June.

[*][*] Leaves palmately 3–5-foliolate; roots not tuberous.

4. P. tenuiflòra, Pursh. Slender, erect, much branched and bushy (2–4° high), minutely hoary-pubescent when young; leaflets varying from linear to obovate-oblong (½–1½´ long), glandular-dotted; flowers (2–3´´ long) in loose racemes; lobes of the calyx and bracts ovate, acute; pod glandular. (P. floribunda, Nutt.)—Prairies, Minn. to Ill., Tex., and westward. June–Sept.

5. P. argophýlla, Pursh. Silvery silky-white all over, erect, divergently branched (1–3° high); leaflets elliptical-lanceolate; spikes interrupted; lobes of the calyx and bracts lanceolate.—High plains, N. Wisc. to Iowa, Kan., and westward. June.—Flowers 4–5´´ long.

6. P. digitàta, Nutt. More slender and less hoary, 1–2° high; leaflets linear-oblanceolate; bracts of the interrupted spike obcordate; calyx-lobes oblong, acute.—Central Kan. to Col. and Tex.

7. P. lanceolàta, Pursh. Glabrous or nearly so, yellowish green, densely punctate; leaflets 3, linear to oblanceolate; flowers small, in very short spikes; calyx 1´´ long, with short broad teeth.—Central Kan. to the Sask. and westward.

[*][*][*] Leaves palmately 5-foliolate; root tuberous; spike-like racemes dense.

8. P. esculénta, Pursh. Roughish hairy all over; stem stout (5–15´ high) and erect from a tuberous or turnip-shaped farinaceous root; leaflets obovate- or lanceolate-oblong; spikes oblong, long-peduncled; lobes of the calyx and bracts lanceolate, nearly equalling the corolla (½´ long).—High plains, Sask. to Wisc., Iowa, and Tex. June. The Pomme blanche, or Pomme de Prairie, of the voyageurs.

9. P. hypogæ̀a, Nutt. Tuber small; nearly acaulescent, hoary with appressed hairs; leaflets linear; spikes short-capitate, on peduncles ½–2´ long; calyx narrow, 3–6´´ long.—Central Kan. to Col. and Tex.

10. P. cuspidàta, Pursh. Stout, tall, from a deep-seated tuber, hoary with appressed hairs; leaflets usually broadly oblanceolate, obtuse; flowers large, the petals (6–8´´ long) exceeding the lanceolate-lobed calyx.—Central Kan. to Col. and Tex.

14. AMÓRPHA, L. False Indigo.

Calyx inversely conical, 5-toothed, persistent. Standard (the other petals entirely wanting!) wrapped around the stamens and style. Stamens 10, monadelphous at the very base, otherwise distinct. Pod oblong, longer than the calyx, 1–2-seeded, roughened, tardily dehiscent.—Shrubs, with odd-pinnate leaves; the leaflets marked with minute dots, usually stipellate, the midvein excurrent. Flowers violet or purple, crowded in clustered terminal spikes. (Name, ἄμορφος, deformed, from the absence of four of the petals.)

[*] Pods 1-seeded; leaflets small (½´ long or less), crowded.

1. A. canéscens, Nutt. (Lead-Plant.) Whitened with hoary down (1–3° high); leaflets 15–25 pairs, oblong-elliptical, becoming smoothish above; spikes usually clustered at the summit.—Sask. to Ind. and Tex., west to the Rocky Mts.; also eastward to Ga.

2. A. microphýlla, Pursh. Nearly glabrous throughout, 1° high or less; leaflets rather rigid; spikes usually solitary.—Sask. to Minn. and Iowa, west to the Rocky Mts.

[*][*] Pods 2-seeded; leaflets larger, scattered.

3. A. fruticòsa, L. (False Indigo.) A tall shrub, rather pubescent or smoothish, leaflets 8–12 pairs, oblong to broadly elliptical.—River-banks, S. Penn. to Fla., west to Sask., Tex., and the Rocky Mts. Very variable.

15. DÀLEA, L.

Calyx 5-cleft or toothed. Corolla imperfectly papilionaceous; petals all on claws; the standard heart-shaped, inserted in the bottom of the calyx; the keel and wings borne on the middle of the monadelphous sheath of filaments, which is cleft down one side. Stamens 10, rarely 9. Pod membranaceous, 1-seeded, indehiscent, enclosed in the persistent calyx.—Mostly herbs, more or less glandular-dotted, with minute stipules; the small flowers in terminal spikes or heads. (Named for Samuel Dale, an English botanist.)

[*] Glabrous; flowers white or rose-color; leaflets 4–20 pairs; annuals.

1. D. alopecuroìdes, Willd. Erect (1–2° high); leaflets 10–20 pairs, linear-oblong; flowers light rose-color or whitish, in cylindrical spikes; bracts ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, deciduous; calyx very villous, with long slender teeth.—Alluvial soil, Minn. to Ill. and Ala., west to the Rocky Mts.

2. D. laxiflòra, Pursh. Erect (1–4° high), branching; leaflets 3–5 pairs, linear, 2–3´´ long; spikes loosely-flowered; bracts conspicuous, persistent, almost orbicular and very obtuse; petals white; calyx densely villous, the long teeth beautifully plumose.—Iowa and Mo. to Tex., west to Col.

[*][*] Pubescent; leaflets 3–4 pairs; perennial herbs.

3. D. aùrea, Nutt. Stems erect and simple, 1–3° high; leaflets oblong-obovate to linear-oblong, more or less silky-pubescent; spikes solitary, oblong-ovate, very compact and densely silky; bracts short, rhombic-ovate; petals yellow.—On the plains, Mo. to Tex., and westward.

4. D. lanàta, Spreng. Very pubescent throughout, 1–2° high, branching; leaflets obovate to oblong-obovate, 2–3´´ long; spikes slender, rather loose, the obovate acute bracts equalling the small short-toothed calyx; petals short, purple.—Central Kan. to Tex., and westward.

16. PETALOSTÈMON, Michx. Prairie Clover.

Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla indistinctly papilionaceous; petals all on thread-shaped claws, 4 of them nearly similar and spreading, borne on the top of the monadelphous and cleft sheath of filaments, alternate with the 5 anthers; the fifth (standard) inserted in the bottom of the calyx, heart-shaped or oblong. Pod membranaceous, enclosed in the calyx, indehiscent, 1–2 seeded.—Chiefly perennial herbs, upright, glandular-dotted, with crowded odd-pinnate leaves, minute stipules, and small flowers in very dense terminal and peduncled heads or spikes. (Name combined of the two Greek words for petal and stamen, alluding to the peculiar union of these organs in this genus.)

1. P. violàceus, Michx. Smoothish; leaflets 5, narrowly linear; heads globose-ovate, or oblong-cylindrical when old; bracts pointed, not longer than the silky-hoary calyx; corolla rose-purple.—Dry prairies, Minn. to Ind. and Tex., west to the Rocky Mts. July.

2. P. cándidus, Michx. Smooth; leaflets 7–9, lanceolate or linear-oblong; heads oblong, when old cylindrical; bracts awned, longer than the nearly glabrous calyx; corolla white.—With n. 1.

3. P. villòsus, Nutt. Soft-downy or silky all over; leaflets 13–17, linear or oblong, small (4–5´´ long); spikes cylindrical (1–5´ long), short-peduncled, soft-villous; corolla rose-color.—Wisc. to Mo., west to the Rocky Mts.

4. P. foliòsus, Gray. Smooth, very leafy; leaflets 15–29, linear-oblong; spikes cylindrical, short-peduncled; bracts slender-awned from a lanceolate base, exceeding the glabrous calyx; petals rose-color.—River-banks, Ill. and Tenn.

5. P. multiflòrus, Nutt. Glabrous throughout, erect, branching; leaflets 3–9, linear to oblong; spikes globose, the subulate setaceous bracts much shorter than the acutely toothed calyx, petals white.—Kan. to Tex.

17. TEPHRÒSIA, Pers. Hoary Pea.

Calyx about equally 5-cleft. Standard roundish, usually silky outside, turned back, scarcely longer than the coherent wings and keel. Stamens monadelphous or diadelphous. Pod linear, flat, several seeded, 2-valved.—Hoary perennial herbs, with odd-pinnate leaves, and white or purplish racemed flowers. Leaflets mucronate, veiny. (Name from τεφρός, ash-colored or hoary.)

1. T. Virginiàna, Pers. (Goat's Rue. Catgut.) Silky-villous with whitish hairs when young; stem erect and simple (1–2° high), leafy to the top; leaflets 17–29, linear-oblong; flowers large and numerous, clustered in a terminal oblong dense raceme or panicle, yellowish-white marked with purple.—Dry sandy soil. June, July.—Roots long and slender, very tough.

2. T. spicàta, Torr. & Gray. Villous with rusty hairs; stems branched below, straggling or ascending (2° long), few-leaved; leaflets 9–15, obovate or oblong-wedge-shaped, often notched; flowers few, in a loose and interrupted very long-peduncled spike, reddish.—Dry soil, from Del. and Va. to Fla. and Miss. July.

3. T. hispídula, Pers. Hairy with some long and rusty or only minute and appressed pubescence; stems slender (9–24´ long), divergently branched, straggling; leaflets 5–15, oblong, varying to obovate-wedge-shaped and oblanceolate; peduncles longer than the leaves, 2–4-flowered, flowers reddish-purple.—Dry sandy soil, Va. to Fla. and Ala.

18. INDIGÒFERA, L. Indigo.

Calyx small, equally 5-cleft. Standard roundish, silky outside, wings coherent; keel erect, gibbous or spurred at base. Stamens diadelphous; connective gland-like. Pod 1–several-seeded, septate within between the seeds.—Herbs or shrubs, mostly canescent with appressed hairs fixed by the middle, with odd-pinnate faintly-nerved leaves, and pink or purplish flowers in naked axillary spikes. (So named because some of the species yield the indigo of commerce.)

1. I. leptosépala, Nutt. A perennial herb, ½–2° high; leaflets 5–9, oblanceolate; spikes very loose; pods linear, 6–9 seeded, obtusely 4-angled, reflexed, 1´ long.—Kan. to Tex. and Fla.

19. ROBÍNIA, L. Locust-tree.

Calyx short, 5-toothed, slightly 2-lipped. Standard large and rounded, turned back, scarcely longer than the wings and keel. Stamens diadelphous. Pod linear, flat, several-seeded, margined on the seed-bearing edge, at length 2-valved.—Trees or shrubs, often with prickly spines for stipules. Leaves odd-pinnate, the ovate or oblong leaflets stipellate. Flowers showy, in hanging axillary racemes. Base of the leaf-stalks covering the buds of the next year. (Named in honor of John Robin, herbalist to Henry IV. of France, and his son Vespasian Robin, who first cultivated the Locust-tree in Europe.)

1. R. Pseudacàcia, L. (Common Locust or False Acacia.) Branches naked; racemes slender, loose; flowers white, fragrant; pod smooth.—S. Penn. to Ind., Iowa, and southward. Commonly cultivated as an ornamental tree, and for its valuable timber; naturalized in many places. June.

2. R. viscòsa, Vent. (Clammy L.) Branchlets and leaf-stalks clammy; flowers crowded in oblong racemes, tinged with rose-color, nearly inodorous; pod glandular-hispid.—Va. to N. C. and Ga., in the mountains. Cultivated, like the last, and often escaped. June.

3. R. híspida, L. (Bristly L. or Rose Acacia.) Shrub 3–8° high; branchlets and stalks bristly; flowers large and deep rose-color, inodorous; pods glandular-hispid.—Varies with less bristly or nearly naked branchlets; also with smaller flowers, etc.—Mts. of Va. to N. C. and Ga. May, June.

20. WISTÀRIA, Nutt.

Calyx campanulate, somewhat 2-lipped; upper lip of 2 short teeth, the lower of 3 longer ones. Standard roundish, large, turned back, with 2 callosities at its base; keel scythe-shaped; wings doubly auricled at the base. Stamens diadelphous. Pods elongated, thickish, knobby, stipitate, many-seeded, at length 2-valved. Seeds large.—Woody twiners, climbing high, with minute stipules, pinnate leaves of 9–13 ovate-lanceolate leaflets, with or without minute stipels, and dense racemes of large and showy lilac-purple flowers. (Dedicated to the late Professor Wistar, of Philadelphia.)

1. W. frutéscens, Poir. Downy or smoothish when old; wings of the corolla with one short auricle and an awl-shaped one as long as the claw.—Alluvial grounds, Va. to Fla., west to S. Ind., Kan. and La. May.—Sometimes cultivated for ornament, as is the still handsomer Chinese species.

21. ASTRÁGALUS, Tourn. Milk-Vetch.

Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla usually long and narrow; standard narrow, equalling or exceeding the wings and blunt keel, its sides reflexed or spreading. Stamens diadelphous. Pod several–many-seeded, various, mostly turgid, one or both sutures usually projecting into the cell, either slightly or so as to divide the cavity lengthwise into two.—Chiefly herbs (ours perennials), with odd-pinnate leaves and spiked or racemed flowers. Mature pods are usually necessary for certain identification of the species. (The ancient Greek name of a leguminous plant, as also of the ankle-bone; but the connection between the two is past all guess.)

I. Pod turgid, completely or imperfectly 2-celled by the intrusion of the dorsal suture, the ventral suture being not at all or less deeply inflexed.—Astragalus proper.

[*] Pod plum-shaped, succulent, becoming thick and fleshy, indehiscent, not stipitute, completely 2-celled.

1. A. caryocárpus, Ker. (Ground Plum.) Pale and minutely appressed-pubescent; leaflets narrowly oblong; flowers in a short spike-like raceme; corolla violet-purple; fruit glabrous, ovate-globular, more or less pointed, about {2/3}´ in diameter, very thick-walled, cellular or corky when dry.—Sask. and Minn. to Mo., Col., and Tex. May.

2. A. Mexicànus, A. DC. Smoother, or pubescent with looser hairs, larger; leaflets roundish, obovate, or oblong; flowers larger (10–12´´ long); calyx softly hairy; corolla cream-color, bluish only at the tip; fruit globular, very obtuse and pointless, 1´ or more in diameter; otherwise like the last.—Prairies and open plains, Ill. to Kan., south to Tex. The unripe fruits of both resemble green plums—whence the popular name—and are eaten, raw or cooked, by travellers.

3. A. Platténsis, Nutt. Loosely villous; stipules conspicuous; leaflets oblong, often glabrous above; flowers crowded in a short spike or oblong head, cream-color often tinged or tipped with purple; fruit ovate, pointed, and with the calyx villous.—Gravelly or sandy banks, Minn. to Ind. and Ala., west to Col. and Tex.—Var. Tennesseénsis, Gray, has the pod oblong and slightly curved, and much less fleshy. May.

[*][*] Pod dry, coriaceous, cartilaginous or membranous, dehiscent.

[+] Pod completely 2-celled, sessile.

4. A. mollíssimus, Torr. Stout, decumbent, densely silky-villous throughout and tomentose; leaflets 19–29, ovate-oblong; peduncles elongated; spikes dense, with rather large violet flowers (6–12´´ long); pod narrow-oblong (5–9´´ long), glabrous, somewhat obcompressed and sulcate at both sutures, at length incurved.—Neb. to Kan. and Tex., west to Col. The most common "loco"-plant, and said to be very poisonous to cattle.

5. A. Canadénsis, L. Tall and erect (1–4° high), somewhat pubescent or glabrate; leaflets 21–27, oblong; flowers greenish cream-color, very numerous, in long dense spikes, pods crowded, oblong (6´´ long), glabrous, terete, scarcely sulcate and only on the back, nearly straight.—River-banks, western N. Y. to N. Ga., and far westward.

6. A. adsúrgens, Pall. Ascending or decumbent (4–18´ high), cinereous with minute appressed pubescence or glabrate; leaflets about 21, narrowly or linear-oblong; spike dense, with medium-sized pale or purplish flowers; pubescence of calyx appressed; pod oblong (4–5´´ long), finely pubescent, triangular-compressed, with a deep dorsal furrow, straight.—Red River valley, Minn., to W. Kan., and westward. (Asia.)

7. A. hypoglóttis, L. Slender (6´–2° long), diffusely procumbent or ascending, with a rather loose pubescence or nearly glabrous; leaflets 15–21, oblong, obtuse or retuse; flowers violet, capitate; calyx loosely pubescent; pod as in the last, but ovate and silky-villous.—Red River valley, Minn., to central Kan. and westward.

[+][+] Pod not completely 2-celled.

[++] Pod stipitate, pendent.

8. A. alpìnus, L. Diffuse (6–12´ high), smooth or slightly hairy; leaflets 13–25; flowers violet-purple, or at least the keel tipped with violet or blue; calyx campanulate; pod narrowly oblong, short-acuminate, black-pubescent, triangular-turgid, deeply grooved on the back, straight or curved, its stipe usually rather exceeding the calyx.—Rocky banks, Lab. to Maine and N. Vt.

9. A. Robbínsii, Gray. Nearly smooth and erect (1° high), slender; leaflets 7–11; calyx more oblong; flowers white; pod oblong (6´´ long), obtuse or acutish, minutely darkish-pubescent, somewhat laterally compressed, not dorsally sulcate or obsoletely so, straight or somewhat incurved, rather abruptly narrowed at base into the often included stipe.—Rocky ledges, Vt.

10. A. racemòsus, Pursh. Stout (1–2° high), erect or ascending, appressed-pubescent or glabrate; leaflets 13–25; flowers numerous, white, pendent; calyx campanulate, gibbous, white-pubescent; pod straight, narrow, 1´ long, acute at both ends, triangular-compressed, deeply grooved on the back, the ventral edge acute.—Neb. to Mo., and westward.

[++][++] Pod sessile.

11. A. grácilis, Nutt. Subcinereous, slender (1° high or more); leaflets 11–17, linear, obtuse or retuse; racemes loose; flowers small (3´´ long); pods pendent, 2–3´´ long, coriaceous, elliptic-ovate, concave on the back, the ventral suture prominent, white-hairy, at length glabrous, transversely veined.—Minn. to Neb. and Mo., and westward.

12. A. distórtus, Torr. & Gray. Low, diffuse, many-stemmed, subglabrous; leaflets 17–25, oblong, emarginate; flowers in a short spike, pale-purple; pod ovate- or lance-oblong, curved, 6–9´´ long, glabrous, thick-coriaceous, somewhat grooved on the back, the ventral suture nearly flat.—Ill. to Iowa, Mo., Ark. and Tex.

13. A. lotiflòrus, Hook. Hoary or cinereous with appressed hairs; stems very short; leaflets 7–13, lance-oblong; flowers yellowish, in few-flowered heads, with peduncles exceeding the leaves or very short; calyx campanulate, the subulate teeth exceeding the tube; pod oblong-ovate, 9–12´´ long, acuminate, acute at base, canescent, the back more or less impressed, the acute ventral suture nearly straight.—Sask. to Neb. and Tex., west to the mountains.

14. A. Missouriénsis, Nutt. Short-caulescent, hoary with a closely appressed silky pubescence; leaflets 5–15, oblong, elliptic or obovate; flowers few, capitate or spicate, 5–8´´ long, violet; calyx oblong, the teeth very slender; pod oblong (1´ long), acute, obtuse at base, pubescent, nearly straight, obcompressed or obcompressed-triangular, depressed on the back and the ventral suture more or less prominent, transversely rugulose.—Sask. to Neb. and N. Mex.

II. Pod 1-celled, neither suture being inflexed or the ventral more intruded than the dorsal.—Phaca.

15. A. Coòperi, Gray. Nearly smooth, erect (1–2° high); leaflets 11–21, elliptical or oblong, somewhat retuse, minutely hoary beneath; flowers white, rather numerous in a short spike; calyx dark-pubescent; pod coriaceous, inflated, ovate-globose (6–9´´ long), acute, glabrous, slightly sulcate on both sides, cavity webby.—Ont. and western N. Y. to Minn. and Iowa.

16. A. flexuòsus, Dougl. Ashy-puberulent, ascending (1–2° high); leaflets 11–21, mostly narrow; flowers small, in loose racemes; pod thin-coriaceous, cylindric (8–11´´ long, 2´´ broad), pointed, straight or curved, puberulent, very shortly stipitate.—Red River Valley, Minn., to Col.

22. OXÝTROPIS, DC.

Keel tipped with a sharp projecting point or appendage; otherwise as in Astragalus. Pod often more or less 2-celled by the intrusion of the ventral suture.—Our species are low, nearly acaulescent perennials, with tufts of numerous very short stems from a hard and thick root or rootstock, covered with scaly adnate stipules; pinnate leaves of many leaflets; peduncles scape-like, bearing a head or short spike of flowers. (Name from ὀξύς, sharp, and τρόπις, keel.)

[*] Leaves simply pinnate.

1. O. campéstris, DC., var. cærùlea, Koch. Pubescent or smoothish; leaflets lanceolate or oblong; flowers violet or blue, sometimes pure white; pods ovate or oblong-lanceolate, of a thin or papery texture.—N. Maine to Labrador.

2. O. Lambérti, Pursh. Silky with fine appressed hairs; leaflets mostly linear; flowers larger, purple, violet, or sometimes white; pods cartilaginous or firm-coriaceous in texture, silky-pubescent, strictly erect, cylindraceous-lanceolate and long-pointed, almost 2-celled by intrusion of the ventral suture.—Dry plains, Sask. and Minn. to Mo. and Tex., west to the mountains.

[*][*] Leaflets numerous, mostly in fascicles of 3 or 4 or more along the rhachis.

3. O. spléndens, Dougl. Silvery silky-villous (6–12´ high); scape spicately several to many-flowered; flowers erect-spreading; pod ovate, erect, 2-celled, hardly surpassing the very villous calyx.—Plains of Sask. and W. Minn., to N. Mex. and the Rocky Mts.

23. GLYCYRRHÌZA, Tourn. Liquorice.

Calyx with the two upper lobes shorter or partly united. Anther-cells confluent at the apex, the alternate ones smaller. Pod ovate or oblong-linear, compressed, often curved, clothed with rough glands or short prickles, scarcely dehiscent, few-seeded. The flower, etc., otherwise as in Astragalus.—Long perennial root sweet (whence the name, from γλυκύς, sweet, and ῥίζα, root); herbage glandular-viscid; leaves odd-pinnate, with minute stipules; flowers in axillary spikes, white or bluish.

1. G. lepidòta, Nutt. (Wild Liquorice.) Tall (2–3° high); leaflets 15–19, oblong-lanceolate, mucronate-pointed, sprinkled with little scales when young, and with corresponding dots when old; spikes peduncled, short; flowers whitish; pods oblong, beset with hooked prickles, so as to resemble the fruit of Xanthium on a smaller scale.—Minn. to Iowa and Mo., and westward; Ft. Erie, Ont.

24. ÆSCHYNÓMENE, L. Sensitive Joint-Vetch.

Calyx 2-lipped; the upper lip 2-, the lower 3-cleft. Standard roundish; keel boat-shaped. Stamens diadelphous in two sets of 5 each. Pod flattened, composed of several easily separable joints.—Leaves odd-pinnate with several pairs of leaflets, sometimes sensitive, as if shrinking from the touch (whence the name, from αἰσχυνομένη, being ashamed.)

1. Æ. híspida, Willd. Erect, rough-bristly annual; leaflets 37–51, linear; racemes few-flowered; flowers yellow, reddish externally; pod stalked, 6–10-jointed.—Along rivers, S. Penn. to Fla. and Miss. Aug.

25. CORONÍLLA, L.

Calyx 5-toothed. Standard orbicular; keel incurved. Stamens diadelphous, 9 and 1. Pod terete or 4-angled, jointed; the joints oblong.—Glabrous herbs or shrubs, with pinnate leaves, and the flowers in umbels terminating axillary peduncles. (Diminutive of corona, a crown, alluding to the inflorescence.)

C. vària, L. A perennial herb with ascending stems; leaves sessile; leaflets 15–25, oblong; flowers rose-color; pods coriaceous, 3–7-jointed, the 4 angled joints 3–4´´ long.—Conn. to N. J. (Nat. from Eu.)

26. HEDÝSARUM, Tourn.

Calyx 5-cleft, the lobes awl-shaped and nearly equal. Keel nearly straight, obliquely truncate, not appendaged, longer than the wings. Stamens diadelphous, 5 and 1. Pod flattened, composed of several equal-sided separable roundish joints connected in the middle.—Perennial herbs; leaves odd-pinnate. (Name composed of ἡδύς, sweet, and ἄρομα, smell.)

1. H. boreàle, Nutt. Leaflets 13–21, oblong or lanceolate, nearly glabrous; stipules scaly, united opposite the petiole; raceme of many deflexed purple flowers; standard shorter than the keel; joints of the pod 3 or 4, smooth, reticulated.—Lab. to northern Maine and Vt.; north shore of L. Superior, and north and westward.

27. DESMÒDIUM, Desv. Tick-Trefoil.

Calyx usually more or less 2 lipped. Standard obovate; wings adherent to the straight or straightish and usually truncate keel, by means of a little transverse appendage on each side of the latter. Stamens diadelphous, 9 and 1, or monadelphous below. Pod flat, deeply lobed on the lower margin, separating into few or many flat reticulated joints (mostly roughened with minute hooked hairs, by which they adhere to the fleece of animals or to clothing).—Perennial herbs, with pinnately 3-foliolate (rarely 1-foliolate) leaves, stipellate. Flowers (in summer) in axillary or terminal racemes, often panicled, and 2 or 3 from each bract, purple or purplish, often turning green in withering. Stipules and bracts scale-like, often striate. (Name from δεσμός, a bond or chain, from the connected joints of the pods.)

§ 1. Pod raised on a stalk (stipe) many times longer than the slightly toothed calyx and nearly as long as the pedicel, straightish on the upper margin, deeply sinuate on the lower; the 1–4 joints mostly half-obovate and concave on the back; stamens monadelphous below; plants nearly glabrous; stems erect or ascending; raceme terminal, panicled; stipules bristle-form, deciduous.

1. D. nudiflòrum, DC. Leaves all crowded at the summit of sterile stems; leaflets broadly ovate, bluntish, whitish beneath; raceme elongated on an ascending mostly leafless stalk or scape from the root, 2° long.—Dry woods, common.

2. D. acuminàtum, DC. Leaves all crowded at the summit of the stem from which arises the elongated naked raceme or panicle; leaflets round-ovate, taper-pointed, green both sides, the end one round (4–5´ long).—Rich woods, from Canada to the Gulf.

3. D. pauciflòrum, DC. Leaves scattered along the low (8–15´ high) ascending stems; leaflets rhombic-ovate, bluntish, pale beneath; raceme few-flowered, terminal.—Woods, Ont. to Penn., Mich., Kan., and southward.

§ 2. Pod raised on a stalk (stipe) little if at all surpassing the deeply deft calyx; stems long and prostrate or decumbent; racemes axillary and terminal.

[*] Stipules conspicuous, ovate, attenuate, striate, persistent; racemes mostly simple.

4. D. rotundifòlium, DC. Soft-hairy all over, truly prostrate; leaflets orbicular, or the odd one slightly rhomboid; flowers purple; pods almost equally sinuate on both edges, 3–5-jointed; the joints rhomboid-oval.—Dry rocky woods, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Minn., Mo., and La.

Var. glabràtum, Gray, is almost glabrous, otherwise nearly as the ordinary form.—Mass. and N. Y.

5. D. ochroleùcum, M. A. Curtis. Stems sparsely hairy, decumbent; leaflets nearly glabrous, ovate, acute or obtuse, transversely reticulated beneath, the lateral ones smaller or sometimes wanting; racemes much elongated; corolla whitish; pods twisted, 2–4-jointed, the large rhomboid joints smooth and reticulated but the margins downy.—Woodlands, Md. and Va.

[*][*] Stipules smaller, lanceolate and awl-shaped, less persistent; racemes panicled.

6. D. humifùsum, Beck. Glabrous or nearly so, procumbent; leaflets ovate or ovate-oblong, rather obtuse, much smaller than in the two preceding (1¼–2´ long), corolla purple; pods 2–4-jointed, flat, the oval-rhomboid joints minutely scabrous throughout.—Dry sandy soil, S. Penn. to Md.

§ 3. Pod slightly if at all stalked in the calyx; racemes panicled.

[*] Stems tall (3–5°) and erect; the persistent stipules and deciduous bracts large and conspicuous, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, taper-pointed; flowers rather large.

[+] Pods of 4–7 unequal-sided rhombic joints, which are considerably longer than broad (about 6´´ long).

7. D. canéscens, DC. Stem loosely branched, hairy; leaflets ovate, bluntish, about the length of the petioles, whitish and reticulated beneath, both sides roughish with a close fine pubescence; joints of the pod very adhesive.—Moist grounds, Mass. and Vt. to Minn. and southward, chiefly westward. Branches clothed with both minute and hooked, and longer, spreading, rather glutinous hairs.—Var. villosíssimum, Torr. & Gray, has the panicle and upper part of the stem very villous, and leaflets oblong-ovate.—Mo.

8. D. cuspidàtum, Torr. & Gray. Very smooth except the panicle; stem straight; leaflets lanceolate-ovate and taper-pointed, green both sides, longer than the petiole (3–5´); joints of the pod rhomboid-oblong, smoothish.—Thickets, common. The conspicuous bracts and stipules ¾´ long.

[+][+] Pods of 3–5 oval joints (not over 3´´ long).

9. D. Illinoénse, Gray. Erect (3–5° high); stem and leaves with short rough pubescence; leaflets ovate-oblong or ovate-lanceolate (2–4´ long), obtuse, subcoriaceous, cinereous beneath, veins and veinlets prominent, strongly reticulated, the lower leaflets nearly equalling the petiole; pods scarcely over 1´ long, sinuate on both margins (deeper below).—Dry ground, Ill. to Iowa and Kan.

[*][*] Stems (2–5° high) erect; stipules and bracts mostly deciduous, small and inconspicuous; joints of the pod 3–5, triangular or half-rhombic or very unequal-sided rhomboidal, longer than broad, 3´´ or less in length; flowers middle-sized.

10. D. lævigàtum, DC. Smooth or nearly so throughout; stem straight; leaflets ovate, bluntish, pale beneath (2–3´ long); panicles minutely rough-pubescent.—Pine woods, N. J. to Fla., west to Mo. and Tex.

11. D. viridiflòrum, Beck. Stem very downy, rough at the summit; leaflets broadly ovate, very obtuse, rough above, whitened with a soft velvety down underneath (2–3´ long).—Southern N. Y. to N. J. and Fla., west to Mich., Mo., and Tex.

12. D. Dillènii, Darlingt. Stem pubescent; leaflets oblong or oblong-ovate, commonly bluntish, pale beneath, softly and finely pubescent, mostly thin (2–3´ long).—Open woodlands, common.

13. D. paniculàtum, DC. Nearly smooth throughout; stem slender, tall; leaflets oblong-lanceolate, or narrowly lanceolate, tapering to a blunt point, thin (3–5´ long); racemes much panicled.—Copses, common.

14. D. stríctum, DC. Stem very straight and slender, simple (2–3° high), the upper part and narrow panicle rough-glandular; leaflets linear, blunt, strongly reticulated, thickish, very smooth (1–2´ long, ¼´ wide); joints of the pod 1–3, semi-obovate or very gibbous (only 2´´ long).—Pine woods, N. J. to Fla. and La.

[*][*][*] Stipules small and inconspicuous, mostly deciduous; pods of few roundish or obliquely oval or sometimes roundish-rhomboidal joints, 1½–2½´´ long.

[+] Stems erect; bracts before flowering conspicuous; racemes densely flowered.

15. D. Canadénse, DC. Stem hairy (3–6° high); leaflets oblong-lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, with numerous straightish veins, much longer than the petiole (1½–3´ long); flowers showy, larger than in any other species (½–{1/3}´ long).—Dry rich woods, N. Brunswick to N. C., Minn., and Kan.

16. D. sessilifòlium, Torr. & Gray. Stem pubescent (2–4° high); leaves nearly sessile; leaflets linear or linear-oblong, blunt, thickish, reticulated, rough above, downy beneath; branches of the panicle long; flowers small.—Copses, Penn. and Ky., west to Mich., Iowa, Mo., and Tex.

[+][+] Stems ascending (1–3° high); bracts small; racemes or panicles elongated and loosely flowered; flowers small.

17. D. rígidum, DC. Stem branching, somewhat hoary, like the lower surface of the leaves, with a close roughish pubescence; leaflets ovate-oblong, blunt, thickish, reticulated-veiny, rather rough above, the lateral ones longer than the petiole.—Dry hillsides, Mass. to Fla., west to Mich., Mo., and La.

18. D. ciliàre, DC. Stem slender, hairy or rough-pubescent; leaves crowded, on very short hairy petioles; leaflets round-ovate or oval, thickish, more or less hairy on the margins and underneath (½–1´ long).—Dry hills and sandy fields, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Mich., Mo., and Tex.

19. D. Marilándicum, F. Boott. Nearly smooth throughout, slender; leaflets ovate or roundish, very obtuse, thin, the lateral ones about the length of the slender petiole; otherwise resembling the preceding.—Copses, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Mich., Mo., and La.

[+][+][+] Stems reclining or prostrate; racemes loosely flowered.

20. D. lineàtum, DC. Stem minutely pubescent, striate-angled; leaflets orbicular, smoothish (½–1´ long), much longer than the petiole; pod scarcely stalked in the calyx.—Dry soil, Md. and Va. to Fla. and La.

28. LESPEDÈZA, Michx. Bush-Clover.

Calyx 5-cleft; the lobes nearly equal, slender. Stamens diadelphous (9 and 1); anthers all alike. Pods of a single 1-seeded joint (sometimes 2 jointed, with the lower joint empty and stalk-like), oval or roundish, flat, reticulated.—Herbs with pinnately 3-foliolate leaves, not stipellate. Flowers often polygamous, in summer and autumn. (Dedicated to Lespedez, the Spanish governor of Florida in the time of Michaux.)