302 LEGUMINOS^. Psoralea. 



tooth rather longest. Vexillum white: keel blue. — Navet de Prairie of the 

 Canadiaa "voyageurs," according to Mr. Douglas. 



14. P. esculenta (Pursh) : whole plant hirsute ; stem erect, somewhat 

 branched; leaves 5-foliolate ; leaflets lanceolate ; spikes dense; segments of 

 the calyx lanceolate, a little shorter than the corolla ; legumes with an ensi- 

 form beak ; root thick and fusiform. — Pursh, Ji. 2. p. 475, t. 22 ; DC. prodr. 

 2. j3. 219. 



0. nearly stemless ; leaflets obovate-oblong. — P. esculenta, Nutt. ! gen. 2. 

 p. 102. 



Banks of the Missouri, Lewis ! /?. On the same river and on the high and 

 bare hills of the lead mines near St. Louis, Nuttall ! Louisiana, west of 

 the Mississippi, and in Texas, Dr. Leavenworth ! June-July. — Root usu- 

 ally about the size of a Avalnut, scarcely farinaceous, solid and tough. Stem 

 a foot or more high (in /?. only 1-3 inches above the ground). Leallets slight- 

 ly dotted. Spikes capitate. Flowers pale blue: vexillum obovate, marked 

 with 2 callosities towards the base. Legume covered with the calyx, hirsute. 

 Pursh. — In our specimens of /?. the leaflets are about 2 inches long and f of 

 an inch Avide ; the segments of the calyx are equal, the 2 upper ones not unit- 

 ed ; and the long ensiform point of the legume is much exserted. Accord- 

 ing to Nuttall the root of this species is the Pomme de Prairie (also called 

 Pomme blanche) of the Canadian voyageurs. The form of the plant de- 

 scribed by Pursh is very near P. brachiata. Neither species grows west of 

 the mountains. 



16. P. hypogfiea (Nutt. ! mss.) : stemless, hirsute with whitish appressed 

 hairs; leaves 5-7-foliolate ; leaflets Hnearlanceolate, or hnear-oblong, usually 

 acute; spikes capitate, on peduncles much shorter than the petioles; seg- 

 ments of the calyx linear, acuminate, the lowest one elongated. 



" Plains of the Platte, with P. esculenta. — Root tuberous, oblong, edible, 

 about ail inch long. Leaflets 1-U inch long, 2-3 lines wide ; upper surface 

 nearly glabrous. Spikes nearly sessile, or on peduncles scarcely more than 

 an inch long. Bracts lanceolate. Calyx cleft below the middle ; lowest seg- 

 ment lanceolate, the others almost subulate, curved upward. Corolla pale 

 dull blue : vexillum oblong, about as long as the very narrow wings, and twice 

 as long as the keel." Nuttall. 



17. P . suhacatdis : nearly stemless ; peduncles and petioles hirsute with 

 spreading hairs ; leaves on very long petioles, 7-foliolate ; leaflets obovate-ob- 

 long, nearly glabrous above, the midrib beneath and margins hairy ; pedun- 

 cles longer than the leaves ; spikes ovate, rather dense ; bracts and stipules 

 ovate, acuminate ; calyx much shorter than the corolla ; the teeth obtuse, low- 

 est one produced, the others very short. 



Rocky grounds near Nashvifle, Tennessee, Dr. Eoane ! April-May. — 

 Stem scarcely rising above the ground. Leaflets one inch long, sprinkled 

 with very minute dots; the hairs on the midrib spreading. Peduncles 6-8 

 inches long. Stipules and bracts scarious. Spikes 20-40-floAvered. — A very 

 distinct species, but allied to the preceding. 



18. P. Lupinellus (Michx.) : glabrous ; stem slender; leaflets 5-7-foliolate, 

 filiform-linear; racemes much longer than the leaves, many-floAvered ; bracts 

 minute, about as long as the pedicels; legumes someAvhat lunate, obliquely 

 rugose.— Mich:v. ! fl. 2. p. 58 ; Nutt. gen. 2. p. 102 ; Ell. sk. 2. p. 196. 

 P. lupinella, DC. prodr. 2. p. 220. 



Barren sandy places. South Carolina ! to Florida ! May-July. — Stem 

 about 2 feet high, someAvhat branched. Leaflets less than a hne Avide, shorter 

 than the very slender petiole. Peduncles thick. Raceme 10-2n-floAvered. 

 FloAvers 3-4 lines long, purplish. Calyx glandular; teeth short, nearly equal. 

 Vexillum suborbicular. Legume small, with a short recurved point. 



