PEA FAMILY (PULSE FAMILY) 109 



Coffee- Weed (Genus Glottidium) 



This tall annual weed, which blooms in summer, is 

 especially noticeable in early winter, when its thicket- 

 like growth of dry stems is conspicuously decked with 

 seedpods, whose peculiar appearance is due to the fact 

 that when the brown outer walls of the pod open, the two 

 seeds, instead of falling, are held within a parchment-like 

 envelope of lighter color. 



Glottidium vesicarimn. Flowers yellow, small, in axillary 

 racemes. Pods oblong, 2-3 in. long. Stems 3-15 ft. tall. 

 Leaflets 20-52, oblong, about 1 in. long. Damp soil. Bloom- 

 ing in summer. Fla. to N. C. and Texas. 



Glottidimn vesicarimn atrorubmin. Flowers blackish pur- 

 ple. Plants otherwise similar to above species. Fla. 



Sesbania macrocarpa (Sesban). Long-pod. Flowers yel- 

 low, dotted with purple, about 1 in. long, few, in axillary 

 racemes. Pods narrow, 6-12 in. long. Stems 3-12 ft. tall. 

 Leaflets 20-70, 1 in. long or less. Annual. Moist soil. 

 Blooming from spring to fall. Fla. to Pa., Texas, and Mo. 



Sesbania punicea (Daubentonia). This showy exotic shrub 

 or small tree, with leaves of 16-28 dark green oblong leaflets, 

 and drooping racemes of hand,some scarlet flowers, has be- 

 come naturalized in several places in Florida. The seedpods, 

 3-4 inches long, are four-winged. 



Milk Vetch (Genus Tium {Astragalus)) 



Lying close to the sand, with many spreading stems 

 six to twenty inches long, the gray-green mats of this 

 delicate pea are often seen in pinelands in the interior of 

 the peninsula. The pale coloring of the whole plant is 

 very attractive. The pinnate leaves are of 13-25 tiny heart- 

 shaped leaflets, only one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch 

 long. The small, pale purple flowers are in axillary, 

 stalked racemes, and are followed by crescent-shaped seed- 

 pods about an inch in length. The blossoming season 

 begins in late winter, and the stems die in early summer. 



