112 LEGUMINOS^. (pulse FAMILY.) 



ducous, or the lower ones larger and persistent ; racemes numerous, short, few- 

 flowered, somewhat leafy at the base ; bracts ovate-lanceolate, persistent ; 

 flowers small, on long 2-bracted pedicels ; ovary villous ; legume small, ovoid, 

 slender-pointed. — Dry sandy soil, Florida and the southern parts of Georgia. 

 May and June. — Stem 2° high. Leaflets 1' long. Plant unchanged in 

 drying. 



10. B. Serense, SI. A. Curtis. Very smooth, branching ; leaves petioled ; 

 leaflets oblong-obovate, cuneatc ; flowers in a long loose central raceme, and in 

 short racemes terminating the brandies ; iK'dicols longer than the calyx in fruit ; 

 segments of the calyx villous on the inside ; legume oblong, inflated, the stipe 

 longer than the calyx. — Society Hill, South Carolina, Curtis. May and June. 

 — Stem diffusely branched, 1° -2° high. Leaflets 1' long. Legume 8" long. 

 Allied to No. 7 and No. 1 1 . Plant unchanged in drying. 



•I— -t- Flotveis irliite. 



11. B. alba, R- Brown. Smooth and glaucous ; branches slender, flexu- 

 ous, horizontal ; leaves all distinctly petioled ; leaflets thin, cuneate-lanceolate or 

 oblong, obtuse ; stipules and bracts minute, caducous ; raceme usually solitary, 

 central, very long, those on the branches few-flowered ; legume cylindrical. — 

 Damp soil, Florida to North Carolina, and westward. April. — Stem 2° -3° 

 high, often purple. Leaflets I'long. Racemes l°-3° long. Corolla ^' long. 

 Plant unchanged in drying. 



12. B. leucantha, Ton-. & Gray. Smooth and glaucous ; branches 

 spreading , leaves shortpetioled ; leaflets oblong and obovate, obtuse ; stipules 

 lanceolate, as long as the petioles, deciduous ; racemes central, and terminating 

 the branches, long, many-flowered ; ovary smooth ; legume large, oblong, much 

 inflated, long-stipitate. — River-banks, Florida to South Carolina, and westward. 

 March and April. — A stouter plant than the preceding, with larger leaves and 

 flowers, changing blackish in drying. Legumes Ij' long. 



13. B. leucophsea, Nutt. Hairy or smoothish ; stem stout, angled ; 

 leaves short-pctiolcd ; leaflets varying from oblanccolate to obovate, rigid, re- 

 ticulate, soon smooth above; stipules and bracts leafy, ovate-lanceolate, per- 

 sistent; racemes stout, declined, 1 -sided ; flowers large, yellowish-white, on long 

 and slender erect pedicels; ovary villous, legume ovoid, long- pointed. (B. 

 l)racteata, Mit/il.) — Dry rich oak woods, Wrightsboro, Georgia, and westward. 

 April. — Stem low, with widely spreading branches. Racemes 4'- 12' long. 

 Flowers 1' long, the vexillum spotted with brown. Plant turns black m drying. 



-1- -1- -t- Flowers hine. 



14. B. australis, R Brown Smooth ; leaves all shortpetioled ; leaflets 

 cuneate-obovate ; stipules leafy, lanceolate, twice as long as the petioles ; ra- 

 cemes large, erect, many-flowered; flowers (indigo blue) very large; bracts 

 deciduous; legume oblong. (B. caerulea, Nutt) — Banks of rivers, Georgia 

 (Pursh), and westward. June and July. — Stem 2°- 3° high, newel's 1' or 

 more long. Legume 2' long. Plant unchanged in drying. 



