XLVII. LEGUMINOS^. Vicia 



nirsute. — (i) A well known garden flower, native of Sicily. The flowers ap- 

 pear in June, are large, variegated with red and white. Very fragrant. 



8. L. sATivus. Chick Pea. — Peduncles 1-flowered; Ifts. 2 — 4; kg. ovate, 

 compressed, with 2 winged margins at the back. — (I) "Native of S. Europe, 

 ■where it has been sometimes cultivated for food ; but it proves to be a slow poison 

 both to man and beast, producing ultimately entire helplessness, by rendej-ing 

 the limbs rigid, but without pain. 



2. VICIA. 



Celtic gwig, whence Gr. (iiKiov, Lat. vicia, Fr. vesce, and Eng. vetch. 



Calyx tubular, with the 3 inferior segments straight and longer 

 than the 2 above ; vexillum emarginate ; stamens 1 0, diadelphous 

 (9 and 1 ) ; style filiform, bent at right angles with the ovary, villous 

 beneath the stigma on the outside (next the keel) ; legume oblong, 

 several-seeded. — Herhaceous.j mostly dimbiiig. Leaves ahruflly 'pin- 

 nate., with several pairs of leajlets and a branching tendril. Peduncles 

 axillary. 



1. V. Americana. Muhl. American Vetch. *^ 

 Smooth ; ped. 4 — 8-flowered, shorter than the leaves ; stip. semi-sagittate, 



deeply dentate ; tfts. 10 — 14, elliptic-lanceolate, obtuse, mucronate, veined, some- 

 what alternate; legumes oblong-linear, compressed, reticulated. — N. Y. W. to 

 the R. Mts. Stems slender, 1 — 3f long. Leaflets 1' by 5", subsessile. Flow- 

 ers blue or purple. Lower calyx teeth broad-lanceolate, much longer than the 

 2 upper. Style very hairy at the summit. May. 



2. V. Caroliniana. Walt. Carolinian Vetch. 



Ped. many-flowered ; fis. distant ; teeth of the calyx shorter than the tube, 

 the two upper very short ; sly. hairy at the summit ; tfts. 8 — 12, linear-oblong, 

 smoothish ; leg. not reticulated, o.blong. — Woods and river banks. A slender 

 climber, 4 — 6f long. Leaflets about 8" by 2 — 3". Flowers pale-blue, the ban- 

 ner tipped with deep purple. May. 



3. V. CRACCA. Tufted Vetch. 



Pis. in imbricated spikes; Ifts. lanceolate, pubescent; stip. semi-sagit- 

 tate, linear- subulate, entire. — A slender climber, 2 — 3f long, about fences, 

 hedges, thickets, &c., lat. 39" to Can. Stem square, downy. Leaves of many 

 pairs of down}', mucronate leaflets, with a branched tendril at the end of the 

 principal stalk. Leaflets G — 8" by 2 — 3", petiolulate. Flowers blue and purple, 

 in a long, dense, one-sided raceme. July. 



4. V. TETRASPERMA. Loisel. (V. pusilla. Muhl. Ervum. Linn.') Slen- 

 der Vetch. 



Ped. about 2-flowered ; calyx teeth lanceolate, shorter than the tube ; leg. 

 smooth, 4-seeded; tfts. 4 — G, small, linear; stip. lanceolate, sefni-sagittate. — (i) 

 Slender and delicate plants, banks of streams, &c.. Can. to Penn. Stems al- 

 most filiform, 1 — 2f long. Leaflets 5 — 10" by 1", acute or obtuse. Flowers 

 very small, bluish- white, on filiform peduncles. Legumes 4 — G" long, 4, some- 

 times 5-seeded. Jl. 



5. V. SATlvA. Common Vetch. Tares. 



Fls. solitary or in pairs,- subsessile; Ifts. 10 — 12, oblong-obovate, often 

 linear, retuse, mucronate; stip. semi-sagittate, subdentate, dotted; leg. erect, 

 roundish, reticulated, smooth. — ® A slender, climbing plant, found in cultivat- 

 ed fields, introduced from Europe. Stem decumbent or climbing, 2 — 3f long. 

 Leaflets 8 — 12" by 1 — 4", lower ones near the base of the petiole. Flowers 

 pale purple, half as long as the leaves. Legumes 1 — 2' long. Jn. ^ 



6. V. Faba. Willd. (Paba vulgaris. Mcench.) Coffee Bean. Windsor Bean, 

 ^c. — St. rigidly erect, with axillary, many-flowered racemes; Ifts. 2 — 4, oval, 

 entire, mucronate or acute ; tendrils obsolete ; stip. semi-sagittate, dentate at 

 base. — Native of Egj^pt. This species is frequently found in gardens, but not 

 ■so much admired as formerly for the table. Stem simple, 1 — 2f high. Flowers 



