LEGUMINOS.E. (PULSE FAMILY.) Ill 



8. L. angUStifolia, Ell. Stem slender, 2° -3° high, closely pubesceut; 

 leaves short-petioled ; leaflets liuear or oblong-liuear, obtuse or emarginate, 

 pubescent beneath, 1' or less long; racemes capitate, longer tliau the leaves; 

 calyx nearly sessile ; legume broadly ovate, downy, as long as the calyx. — 

 Dry sandy soil in the lower districts. August. 



24. DESMODIUM, DC. (Hedtsarum, 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. Sta- 

 mens diadelphous (9 «& 1), or more or less monadelphous. Legume flattened, 

 2-6-jointed. — Chiefly perennial branching herbs. Leaves trifoliolate, peti- 

 oled, stipulate ; the leaflets petiolulate and stipellate. Flowers small, purple 

 or whitish, in terminal racemes or panicles (except the last). Legumes hispid 

 with hooked hairs. 



§ 1. Stamens monadelphous below: legumes consplcuousli/ stipitate, 2-A-jointed, 

 the joints half-oboe ate, concave on the hack. 



1. D. pauciflorum, Nutt. Stem low, ascending, mostl}- simple, leaf}' ; 

 leaves scattered, longpetioled ; leaflets thin, acute, ciliate, pale beneath, the 

 lateral ones ovate, the terminal one rhombic-ovate ; stipules minute ; racemes 

 terminal, 4 - 8-flowered, mostly shorter than the leaves. — Shady woods, 

 Florida to Tennessee. August. — Stem 1° high. Leaflets 1'- 2' long. Co- 

 rolla pale purple or white. 



2. D. acuminatum, DC. Stem pubescent, leafy at the summit ; leaves 

 large, long-petioled ; leaflets smoothish, ovate or roundish, acuminate ; raceme 

 or panicle terminal, long-peduncled, many-flowered — Rich shady soil. July- 

 August. — Plant 2° - 3° high. Leaflets thin, 2' - 4' long. 



3. D. nudiflorum, DC. Stem smooth, short, leafy at the summit; 

 panicle ascending from the base of the stem, naked, or with one or two leaves 

 near the base, much longer than the stem ; leaves long-petioled, smooth ; leaf- 

 lets ovate, acute or obtuse, white beneath ; legume loug-stipitate. — Rich 

 woods. July -August. — Stem 6'- 12' high. Racemes simple or compound, 

 on peduncles 2° -3° high. 



§2. Stamens diadelphous: legume sessile or short-stipitate. 



* Stipules large, ovate (except No. 9), acuminate, persistent : legume 3-6-joiiUed, 



the joints convex on the upper suture, rounded on the lower one. 



4. D. canescens, DC. Stem tall, rough-hairy, striate; leaflets ovate, 

 mostly acute, very rough, especially beneath ; panicle large, very hairy ; bracts 

 large, ovate, acuminate ; joints of the legume 3-5, connected by a broad neck. 

 — Dry open woods. July -August. — Plant 3°-5° high, much branched, 

 pale green. Leaflets H'-3' long. Flowers large. 



5. D. tortUOSUm, DC. Stem tall, much branched, softly pubescent ; 

 leaflets rhombic or elliptical, obtuse and often emarginate, tomentose beneath, 

 rough above; racemes panicled, slender; flowers 2-3 together, on slender 

 pedicels ; legume nearly sessile, black ; the small joints oval or rhombic, 

 equally convex on both sutures. — Waste places. Introduced. Sept. — Stem 

 3° - 5° high. Leaflets 3'- 4' long. Legume 1 ' long, pendulous. Flowers small. 



