LEGUMINOS&. (PULSE FAMILY.) 101 
Var. divergens. (L.divergens, Pursh.) Stems diffuse; leaflets oval or ob- 
long; peduncles filiform, few-flowered, longer than the leaves, and bearing 
chiefly sterile flowers. 
Var. sessiliflora. (L. sessiliflora, Michr. L. violacea, Ell) Stem erect ; 
leaflets oblong ; flowers mostly fertile, in dense and nearly sessile clusters which 
are much crowded near the summit of the branches. 
Var. reticulata. (L. reticulata, Pers.) Stem erect; leaves linear-oblong ; 
flowers clustered as in the preceding variety. 
. Dry barren soil, Florida to Mississippi, and northward. August, — Stem 
29-39 high. Leaflets pale beneath. Corolla twice as long as the calyx. 
3. L. Stuvei, Nutt. Stem erect, branching, softly-pubescent ; leaflets oval 
or roundish, tomentose or silky on both surfaces, or only beneath, longer than 
the petiole; racemes axillary, mostly longer than the leaves; flowers nearly 
all perfect and fertile; legume longer than the calyx, ovate, villous. — Dry 
sterile soil, Mississippi to North Carolina, and northward. August. — Interme- 
diate between No. 2 and No. 4. 
* * Flowers all perfect and fertile : corolla as long as the calyx, yellowish-white, the 
vexillum spotted with purple : legume included in the calyx. 
4. L. hirta, Ell. Stem erect, pubescent or villous ; leaflets oval or round- 
ish, longer than the petiole, pubescent beneath or on both sides; spikes dense, on 
peduncles longer than the leaves ; calyx-teeth linear-lanceolate, as long as the 
ovate pubescent legume. — Dry barren soil, Florida to Mississippi, and. north- 
ward. August. — Stem 29 -4° high. > A Oe 
5. L. capitata, Michx. Stem mostly simple, softly pubescent, erect ; 
leaves short-petioled ; leaflets varying from oblong to linear, silky on both sides, 
or only beneath ; calyx hairy, longer than the oval villous legume. (L. frutes- 
cens and L. angustifolia, Ell.) — Dry or damp sterile soil, Florida to Mississippi, 
and northward. August. — Stem 29 —4? high. 
25. DESMODIUM, DC. (Hepys&rvum, L., Ell.) 
Flowers all similar and perfect. Calyx bilabiate; the upper lip emarginate 
or entire, the lower 3-cleft. Corolla inserted on the base of the calyx. , Stamens 
diadelphous (9 & 1), or more or less monadelphous. Legume flattened, 2-6- 
jointed. — Chiefly perennial branching herbs. Leaves trifoliolate, petioled, stip- 
ulate ; the leaflets petiolulate and stipellate. Flowers small, purple or whitish, in 
terminal racemes or panicles. Legumes hispid with hooked hairs. 
