110 LEGUMINOS^. (I'ULSE FAMILY.) 



* Flowers of dm kiiiilx, riz. jiirfict, hnt mostly sterile, home in s/iikes or raremes, 



anil firlile, liitt destitute of vurollu and stamens ; the latter commonly in sessile 

 rliislirs: coiolla jiur/ile, lonijer than the calyx. 



1. L. repens, loir. i<: (Jmy. Stem slender, prostrate; leaflets small, 

 oval, mostly emarginate, the jieliole very short, or as long as the lateral leaf- 

 lets ; racemes fe\v-tlo\vered, on filiform peduncles mueii longer tiian tiie leaves ; 

 legume roundish. (L. i)rocumbeus, Michs.) — Dry sandy soil, Florida to 

 Mississii)pi, and northward. August. — Plant l°-2° long, smooth or 

 tomentose. 



2. L. violacea, I'ers. stem widely hranchcd ahove, sparsely ajjprcssed- 

 pubescent ; the branchlets and peduncles setaceous ; leaHets oval or oblong, 

 glabrous above; peduncles diverging, few-flowered ; flowers violet; legumes 

 ovate, acute. — Dry sandy or rocky woods. August. — Stem 2°-3° high. 

 Leaves 1' long. 



3. L. reticulata, Pers. Stem mostly simple, very leafy ; leaflets linear 

 or obloug-liuear, pubescent beneath ; racemes very numerous, the lower shorter 

 than the leaves, the upper glomerate ; flowers purple; legume ovate, acute. 

 With the preceding. 



4. L. Stuvei, Nutt. Stem erect, branching, softly j)ubesceut ; leaflets 

 oval or oblong, tomeutose 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. August. 



* * Flowers in axillary cluster-like racemes, the fertile icith a partially developed 



corolla : calyx lobes ovate : stipules persistent : root annual. 

 .5. Ii. striata, Hook. & Arnott. Annual, erect or prostrate, appressed 

 pubescent ; leaflets oblong-ohovate ; st:])nles thin, strongly veined, twice as 

 long as the petioles, persistent ; racemes shorter than tlie leaves, 1 - 5-flo-w- 

 ered ; calyx veiny, the ovate teeth shorter than the round ovate reticulate 

 legume ; flowers purple. — Fields and waste ground. Introduced. — Stems 

 6' -12' long. 



* * * Flowers all perfect and fertile : corolla as long as the calyx, yellowish 



white, the vexillum spotted with purple : legume included in the calyx. 



6. L. hirta, Fll. Stem erect, pubescent or villous ; leaflets oval or 

 roundish, longer than the petiole, pubescent beneath or on both si<les; s])ikes 

 dense, on peduncles longer than tlie leaves; calyx teeth linear lanceolate, as 

 long as the ovate pubescent legume. — Dry barren soil. August. — Stem 2°- 

 4° high. 



7. L. capitata, Michx. Stem mostly simple, villous; leaves nearly ses- 

 sile ; leaflets rather rigid, lanceolate or oblong, smooth above ; racemes capi- 

 tate ; calyx lobes hairy, as long as the corolla, longer than the oblong-ovate 

 legume. — Dry sterile soil in the upper districts. August. — Stem 2° -4° 

 high. Leaves r - 2' long. 



Var. sericea, Hook. & Arn. Stem branching; leaflets oblong, silky- 

 canescent on both sides ; racemes crowded. — Low ground along the coast. 

 August. 



