64 PLANTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



P. multiflorus. L. Scarlet Pole-bean. Has a splendid ap- 

 pearance in flower. 



PisuM. L. 15. 10. 



Segments of calyx leafy, 2 upper shorter ; stamens 9 in one 

 set, and 1 in the other ; standard large, reflexed ; style com- 

 pressed, villous above ; legume compressed, not winged ; seeds 

 round, many. 



P. maritimum. L. Sea Pea. Found on marshes about salt 

 water in the vicinity of Boston, and described by Dr. Bigelow 

 as a Lathyrus ; it is probably the above plant of Linnaeus. Stem 

 4-sided, compressed, glaucous ; leaves pinnate, with 5-8 ovate 

 or rounded leafets, with arrow-shaped stipules ; flowers 6-8, in 

 a raceme, showy, blue and purple ; legumes oblong, with globular 

 seeds ; blossoms in May to July. 



P. sativum. L. Common Pea. A great many varieties 

 are cultivated ; some of those in the gardens are rich and luscious ; 

 the field-pea is an important article as the food of hogs, and in 

 the composition of provender for horses, cattle, &c. The seeds 

 of more than twenty varieties are sold in some of the seed stores. 



Lathyrus. L. 15. 10. 



L. palustris. L. Marsh Wild Pea. Stem lax, winged, 

 smooth, supported by grass or other plants, w^ith pinnate leaves 

 in 3 pairs of leafets, oblong, mucronate ; peduncles long, bearing 

 a few purple flowers ; blossoms in June, in wet meadows or low 

 grounds, in the vicinity of Boston. Big. 



L. odoratus. L. Sweet Pea. Cultivated for its beauty 

 and odor. 



Other species are not uncommon in gardens. 



ViciA. L. 15. 10. 



V. cracca. L. Tufted Vetch. Has a stem slightly pubes- 

 cent, branching, square, slender, with pinnate leaves of many 

 pairs of leafets, oblong and mucronate ; the peduncles bear long, 



