220 XL VII. LEGUMINOS^. Vicu. 



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; If Is. 2 — 4; leg. ovate, 

 compressed, with 2 winged margins at the back. — (T) 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 rendering 

 the limbs rigid, but without pain, 



2. VICIA. 



Celtic gicig; whence Gr. 0ikiov, Lat. vicia, Ft. vesce, and Eng. vetch. 



Calyx tubular, with the 3 inferior segments straight and longer 

 than the 2 above; vexillum emarginate ; stamens 10, 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. — Herbaceous., mostly climbing. Leaves abrwptly 'pin- 

 nate., icith several pairs of leaflets and a branching tendril. Peduncles 

 axillary. 



1. V. Americana. Muhl. American Vetch. 



Smooth ; pcd. 4 — 8-flowered, shorter than the leaves ; slip, semi-sagittate, 

 deeply dentate ; Ifts. 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. man5^-flowered ; fls. distant ; teeth of the calyx shorter than the tube, 

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

 smoothish ; leg. not reticulated, oblong. — 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. 



Fls. in imbricated" spikes ; Ifts. lanceolate, pubescent ; slip, 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 dov.-ny, mucronate leaflets, with a branched tendril at the end of the 

 principal stalk. Leaflets 6 — 8" by 2 — 3", petiolulate. Flowers blue and purple, 

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



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

 der Vetch. 



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

 .smooth, 4-seeded ; Ifts. 4 — 6, small, linear; stip. lanceolate, semi-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. 



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

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

 roundi.sh, 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, halt as long as the leaves. Legumes 1 — 2' long. . Jn. ^ 



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

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

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

 ba.se.— Native of Egypt. This species is frequently found in gardens, but not 

 so much admired as 'formerly for the table. Stem simple, 1 — 2f high. Flow^-- 



