144 LEGUMINOS^. (pulse FAMILY.) 



obtuse (about 1' long) ; peduncles manij-fioxvered ; flowers 6 - 8" loug. — Shady 

 banks, Penn. to Ga., west to Kan. and Minn. 



4. L. palustris, L. Slender, glabrous or somewhat puliescent; stem 

 often winged ; stipules lanceolate, sharp-pointed at both ends; leaflets 2-4 

 pairs, narrowly oblong to linear, acute {1-2' long) ; peduncles 2 - ^-flowered ; 

 flowers 6'' long. — Moist places, N. Scotia to N. J., and westward across the 

 continent. (Eu.) 



Var. myrtifdlius, Gray. Stipules usually broader and larger; leaflets 

 ovate to oblong {V long or less). — Same range, and extending south to N. C. 



•i- H- Flowers ijelloiv ; leaflets a single pair. 



L. PRATExsis, L. Low and straggling ; leaflets narrowly lanceolate to 

 linear, acute ; peduncles several-flowered. — Spontaneous in Mass., N. Y., and 

 e)nt. (Nat. from Eu.) 



* * * Tendrils xisuallij icanting ; I ow, mostly erect ; stipules semi-sagittate ; flow- 

 ers very large, purple ; pod stipitate in the calyx. 



5. L. polymorphus, Nutt. Leaflets .3-6 pairs, narrowly oblong to 

 linear, thick and strongly nerved, 1 -2' long; seeds with a narrow footstalk 

 and short hilum. — Mo., Kan., and westward. 



6. L. ornatus, Nutt. Like the last, but leaflets always narrow, 3-12" 

 long; seeds with a very broad footstalk and long hilum. — Kan. to Col. and 

 the Dakotas, Scarcely 1° high. 



32. API OS, Boerhaave. Ground-nut. Wild Bean. 



Calyx somewhat 2-lipped, the 2 lateral teeth being nearly obsolete, the upper 

 very short, the lower one longest. Standard very broad, reflexed ; the long 

 scythe-shaped keel strongly incurved, at length coiled. Stamens diadelphous. 

 Pod straight or slightly curved, linear, elongated, tliickish, many-seeded. — A 

 perennial herb (with some milky juice!), twining and climbing over bushes, 

 and bearing edible tubers on underground shoots. Leaflets 3 - 7, ovate-lan- 

 ceolate, obscurely stipellate. Flowers in dense and short, often branching 

 racemes. (Name from &iriop, a pear, from the shape of the tubers.) 



1 . A. tuberdsa, Moench. FloAvers brown-purple or chocolate-color, violet- 

 scented. — Low grounds, N. Brunswick to Fla., west to Minn., Kan., and La. 



33. P H A S E O L U S, Tourn. Kidney Bean. 



Calyx 5-toothed or 5-cleft, the two upper teeth often higher united. Keel of 

 the corolla, with the included stamens and style, spirally coiled. Stamens dia- 

 delphous. Style bearded along the upper side; stigma oblique or lateral. 

 Pod scythe-shaped, several - many-seeded, tipped with the hardened base of 

 the style. Seeds round-reniform, with very short hilum. Cotyledons thick 

 and fleshy, rising out of the ground nearly unchanged in germination. — Twin- 

 ing herbs, with pinnately 3-foliolate stipellate leaves. Flowers racemose, pro- 

 duced in summer and autumn. (The ancient name of the Kidney Bean.) 



1. P. perennis, Walt. (Wild Bean.) Stem climbing higli from a 

 perennial root; leaflets roundish-ovate, short-pointed; flowers purple, hand- 

 some, but small; pods drooping, strongly curved, 4-5-seeded. — Copses, N. 

 Eng. to Fla., west to Minn, and La. 



