624 FABACEAE 



30. AMORPHA L.' 



Shrubs, with glandular-punctate foliage. Leaves alternate : blades odd-pinnate. 

 Flowers small, blue, purple or Avhite, in spike-like racemes. Calyx subcampanulate, 

 5-lobed. Corolla incomplete : standard erect, clawed, folded around the stamens and style ; 

 wings and keel none. Stamens 10 : filaments united at the base, exserted. Ovary 2-celled. 

 Style slender, bearded. Stigma terminal. Pod short, nearly indehiscent, 1-2-seeded. 



Grayish or white-canescert shrubs : lowest pair of leaflets approximate to the stem. 



Calyx-lobes nearly equal, 2-2.5 mm. long : pod with a stout divergent beak. 1. A. canescens. 



Calyx-lobes unequal, the longest about 1.5 mm. long : pod with a slender, nearly 



erect beak. 2. A. herbacea. 



Glabrous or inconspicuously pubescent shrubs : lowest pair of leaflets remote from 

 the stem. 

 Leaflets with the veins very prominent beneath : inflorescence a long branched 



panicle. 3. A. paniciilaia. 



Leaflets with the veins not noticeably prominent : inflorescence simple or of 

 clustered racemes. 

 Pods curved on the back. 



Blades of the leaflets mostly rounded at both ends, the midrib sometimes 

 prolonged into a short'mucro. 

 Flowers in long solitary racemes : pods not punctate or merely with few 



minute glands. 

 Flowers mostly clustered : podspunctate with many conspicuous raised 

 glands. 

 Pods slender, about 6 mm. long, about 2 mm. broad. 

 Pods stout, about 8 mm. long, about 3 mm. broad. 

 Blades of the leaflets mostly acute at the apex, cuneate at the base : the 

 midrib prolonged into a prominent awn-like cusp. 

 Pods nearly straight on the back. 

 Mature pods 7-8 mm. long. 



Calyx-lobes triangular, sharp-pointed, the sinuses narrow and acute. 

 Length of leaflets not twice their width. 

 Length of leaflets more than twice their width. 

 Calyx-lobes nearly obsolete or at most very shallow, the sinuses broad 

 and obtuse : leaflets with thin and smooth blades. 

 Mature pods 4-6 mm. long. 



Blades of the leaflets cuneate at the base: standard reniform, broader 



than long. 

 Blades of the leaflets rounded at the base: standard broadly spatulate, 

 longer than broad. 



1. Amorpha canescens Pursh. SufTruticose, 3-9 dm. high, the whole plant white- 

 canescent. Leaves curved, 5-12 cm. long; blades sessile or nearly so; leaflets 15-47, 

 crowded, the blades oval or ovate-lanceolate, 9-18 mm. long, rounded at the base, subacute 

 at the apex : racemes dense, clustered, 5-18 cm. long, the flowers on very short pedicels : 

 calyx about 5 mm. long: lobes subulate-lanceolate, nearly equal, 2-2.5 mm. long: stand- 

 ard obovate or broadly spatulate, about 5 mm. long, light blue : pods about 4 mm. long, 

 densely tomentose. 



On dry prairies, Texas, New Mexico and northward. Summer. 



2. Amorpha herbacea Walt. Low and suffruticose, the whole plant grayish -pubes- 

 cent. Leaves numerous ; blades very short-petioled, 4-16 cm. long ; leaflets 11-37, the 

 blades elliptic, oblong or oblong-ovate, 9-16 mm. long, rounded at both ends, plainly dot- 

 ted with dark glands ; petiolules about 1 mm. long : racemes clustered, 4-30 cm. long : 

 calyx about 4 mm. long, the two upper lobes broader and shorter than the acute lower 

 ones : standard broadly spatulate, 4-5 mm. long, varying from violet-purple to white : pods 

 4-5 mm. long, 2-2.5 mm. wide, rounded on the ventral and nearly straight on the dorsal 

 suture, marked with numerous dark glands. 



In sandy and sterile soil, Xorth Carolina to Florida. Spring. 



3. Amorpha paniculata T. & G. A coarse shrub 2-4 m. high, with tomentose- 

 canescent shoots. Leaves 12-30 cm. long; leaflets 11-17, the blades ovate- or elliptic- 

 oblong, 2-5 cm. long, rounded and often emarginate at the apex, obtuse or subcordate at 

 the base, densely velvety-tomentose beneath, the u])per surface shining and sparsely tomen- 

 tose when young, becoming glabrate in age, the veins impressed on the upper surface and 

 prominently raised on the lower : racemes long and slender, disposed in a large branching 

 panicle : calyx about 4 mm. long, the lobes subulate-lanceolate, about 2 mm. long. 



In swamps and salt marshes, eastern Texas. Summer. 



4. Amorpha nitens Boynton. A branching nearly glabrous shrub 1.5-3 ni. high, 

 with glossy twigs and shining leaves. Leaves 12-25 cm. long ; leaflets 7-19, the blades 

 thin, oblong-ovate or ovate, 2-6 cm. long, obtuse, rounded at the base, loAver surface dull 



' Contributed by Mr. F. E. Boynton. 



