Bai'tisia. LEGUMlNOSyE. 383 



48. BAPTISIA. Vent. gen. nov. p. ; R. Dr. in hort. Kcw. {cd. 2.) .'). 

 21. 6 ; Ell. sk. 1. 2'- 407 ; Bevfh. comm. Leg. gen. 2^. 2. 



Calyx cainpanulate, 4-5-clcft at tfiu summit, pomcwliat bilabiate, persist- 

 ent. Vexillum rather shorter tban the A\ings or about tlic same len^'th, 

 orbicular, emarginate, the sides reflexed : wings oblong : keel sliglitly in- 

 curved, nearly as long as the wings ; the petals somewhat united. Stamens 

 deciduous. Ovary stipitate : ovules numerous : style slightly incurved, 

 attenuate-subulate : stigma minute. Legume by abortion mostly few-seed- 

 ed, stipitate, inflated. — Perennial herbs (all North American), witli simple or 

 palmately 3-foliolate leaves. Stipules distinct, often small or caducous. 

 Flowers large, in terminal racemes (often opposite the leaves), or sometimes 

 axillary and solitary : pedicels (except in a smgle species) ebracteolate. 



§ 1. Leaves sm2)lc. 



1. B. 2}crfolJn(a (R. Brown) : very glabrous ; leaves orbicular or some- 

 what oval, peribliate, glaucous ; flowers axillary, solitary (])alc yellow) ; 

 legumes hu-ge inflated" — R. Br. in hort. Keiv. 3. p. 5 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 467 ; 

 DC. ! proclr. 2. p. 100 ; Hook. hot. mag. t. 3121. Crotalaria perfoUata, Linn. 

 S2^ec. 2. p. 714. C. perfoliata^ folio, &c. Dill. Elth.f. 122. Sophora perfoU- 

 ata, Walt. ! Car. p. 135. Rafnia perfoliata, Willd. spec. 3. p. 949. Poda- 

 lyria perfoliata, Miclix. ! fl. I. p. 263 ; Pursh ! fi. I. p. 207. 



Dry sandy soil, S. Carolina ! and Georgia ! May-July. — Stem sparingly 

 branched. Flowers small. Seeds very small. — A singular species. The 

 jjerfoliate leaves would seem to consist of the leaf and stipules coalescent 

 into a single body. 



2. B. microjjhylla (Nutt.) : leaves simple, sessile, roundish-cuneiform ; 

 the upper ones somewhat clasping ; stipules roundish ; flowers axillary, soli- 

 tary, legumes short, subglobose." Nutt. in jour. acad. Phi lad. 7. p. 97. 



West Florida and the contiguous parts of Alabama. — JMuch branched. 

 Leaves scarcely an inch in length, and of about the same widlli, cuneate at 

 the base, where they are approached by the round leafy stipules. Near the 

 summit of the stem, one of the stipules, and sometimes both, coalesce in the 

 leaf, and thus present an amplexicaule base to the foliage. Peduncles .short. 

 Legumes conspicuously stipitate. Nuttcdl. — The flowers are unknown, and 

 the plant is described from tlie winter vestiges. 



3. B. siinplicifolia (Croom) : glabrous ; leaves sessile, broadly oval or 

 ovate, obtuse, shining above, somewhat glaucous beneath ; stipules none ; 

 racemes elongated ; bracts ovate, about the length of the pedicels, persistent 

 (flowers yellow) ; legumes small, ovate. — Croom! in Sill. jour. 25. p. 74 

 (1833) ; Nutt. ! in jour. acad. Philad. 7. p. 96. 



Quincy, Middl^ Florida, Mr. Croom ! Dr. Chapman ! .June-Sept. — 

 Plant 2-3 feet high, turning black in drj'ing. Stem angled, striate, branclied 

 above. Leaves somewhatcoriaceous, 3-4 inches long and 2-3 wide. Ra- 

 cemes 4-6 inches long ; the flowers rather crowded, a little larger IJian those 

 of B. tinctoria. Pedicels shorter than the flowers. Cal^-x 4-clelt ; the upper 

 segment 2-toothed. Ovary minutely canescent. Legumes about half an 

 inch long : stipe scarcely exserted. 



§ 2. Leaves palmately 3-foliolate. 



4. B. lanceolata (Ell.) : mitiutely pubescent or nearly glabrous ; stem 



