THE TEPARY, A NEW CULTIVATED LEGUME FROM 
THE SOUTHWEST 
GEORGE F. FREEMAN 
(WITH ELEVEN FIGURES) 
The great aridity and extreme heat of the southwestern part of 
the United States have developed a flora singular in .type and strik- 
ing in contrast with such as is found in the more humid sections. 
So widely distinct are the atmospheric conditions that none but 
the hardiest and most adaptable of introduced plants are able to 
withstand the violent readjustment made necessary by the new 
environment, even though water in abundance be artificially sup- 
plied. Professor J. J. THorRNBER of this station is authority for 
the statement that only a small percentage of plants or varieties 
developed in sections having a decidedly different climate from that 
of Arizona may be successfully cultivated here. 
Alfalfa, which has been grown within the territory for many 
years, is now thoroughly acclimatized and is today our greatest 
single farm product. Among other crops introduced since the 
European settlement of Arizona and southern California and thor- 
oughly acclimatized may be mentioned barley, the white Sonora 
wheat, the olive, pomegranate, and several varieties of figs, dates, 
and citrus fruits. Realizing that the plants which are most suc- 
cessful in resisting the vicissitudes and appropriating the peculiar 
advantages of the climate of Arizona are those which have been 
longest grown within its borders, the writer has had his attention | 
drawn to some of the native economic plants of this region. Among 
these may be found varieties of agricultural plants which have 
been grown within the confines of Arizona for hundreds or perhaps 
even thousands of years, years when the ruins that now crumble 
in the desert sands were populated with a happy and prosperous 
race, years when the canal systems which still can be distinctly 
traced ran on higher’ levels and watered more lands than those 
which at the present time distribute the waters of the Gila and Salt 
rivers. Here among the Pima and Papago Indians, descendants 
395] [Botanical Gazette, vol. 56 
