372 



FARACIiAE. 



Vol. II. 



I. Indigofera leptosepala Nutt. \\ ild or Wcsleru 

 Indigo-plant. iMg. 2520. 



Indigofera Icttoscpala Nutt. ; T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1 : J98. 1838. 



Perennial decumbent, cinereous-pubescent, slender, branching, 

 6'-24' long. Leaves short-petioled ; leaflets 5-9, oblanceolate or 

 oblong-linear, 3"-l2" long, i"-3" wide, obtuse and often nuicron- 

 ulate at the apex, narrowed or cuneate at the base, short-stalked ; 

 spikes peduncled, loosely few-flowered ; flowers pink or purplish, 

 about 3" long; calyx-teeth subulate, equal; pods linear, acute, 

 obtusely 4-angled, sessile in the calyx, 8"-i2" long, i" thick, re- 

 flexed at maturity. 



Prairies, Kansas and Arkansas to Texas and Mexico, east to Flor- 

 ida. May-No V. 



21. CRACCA L. Sp. PI. 752. 1753. 

 [Tephrosia Pers. Syn. 2: 328. 1807.] 



Herbs, sometimes slightly shrubby, with odd-pinnate not punctate leaves, and purple red 

 or white flowers in terminal or lateral racemes or short clusters. Stipules small. Leaflets 

 entire. Calyx-teeth usually nearly equal. Petals all clawed. Standard orbicular or broadly 

 ovate; wings obliquely obovate or oblong; keel curved. Stamens monadelphous or diadel- 

 phous : anthers all alike. Ovary sessile ; ovules several or many. Pod linear, flat, 2-valved, 

 several-seeded, continuous, or with membranous septa between the seeds. [Latin, vetch.] 



About 120 species, mainly natives of warm and tropical regions. Besides the following, eleven 

 species occur in the southern and southwestern United States. Type species : Cracca viUosa 1^. 



Raceme terminal, dense, nearly sessile, many-flowered. 

 Peduncles lateral and terminal, elongated, few-flowered. 



Villous; flowers in an interrupted spike or raceme. 



Pubescent ; peduncles few-flowered near the summit. 



1. C. virginiana. 



2. C. spicata. 



3. C. hispidtila. 



1. Cracca virginiana L. Cat-gut. Wild Sweet-pea. Goat's Rue. Fig. 2521. 



Cracca lirginiana L. Sp. PI. 752. 1753. 



Galega virginiana L. Sp. PI. Ed. 2, 1062. 1763. 



Tephrosia virginiana Pers. Syn. 2: 329. 1807. 



Erect or ascending, more or less villous or silky- 

 pubescent with whitish hairs, i-2 high. Roots 

 long, fibrous, tough ; leaves short-petioled ; leaflets 

 7-25,' oblong, linear-oblong or the terminal one 

 oblanceolate, narrowed or cuneate at the base, 

 rounded, mucronate acutish or emarginate at the 

 apex, g"-i2" long, 2"-4" wide ; flowers yellowish- 

 purple, 6"-9" long, crowded in a terminal often 

 compound nearly sessile raceme ; pedicels 2"-^" 

 long; pod linear, densely pubescent, i'-2' long. 



In dry sandy soil, Maine to Minnesota, Arkansas, 

 Florida, Louisiana and northern Mexico ; western 

 races more copiously pubescent than eastern, have 

 been regarded as specifically distinct as Cracca holo- 

 sericea (Nutt.) Britten & Baker. Turkey-, rabbit- or 

 hoary pea. Devil's shoestrings. June-July. 



