Vor. II.] PEA FAMILY. 289 
17. KUHNISTERA Lam. Encycl. 3: 370. 1789. 
[PETALOSTEMON Michx. Fl, Bor. Am. 2: 48.  1803.] 
Perennial glandular-punctate herbs, with long or deep roots, odd-pinnate leaves, and 
pink purple or white spicate or capitate flowers. Calyx-teeth nearly equal. Petals on long 
slender claws; standard oblong or cordate; wings and keel-petals similar to each other, 
their claws adnate to the sheath of the stamen-tube almost to its summit. Stamens 5, alter- 
nate with the petals. Ovary sessile, 2-ovuled; style subulate. Pod membranous, included 
in the calyx, 1-2-seeded. [Named from the resemblance of these plants to the genus Kuhnia.] 
About 35 species, natives of North America and Mexico. 
Foliage glabrous or very slightly pubescent. 
Flowers white; leaflets 3-9. 
Leaflets oblong, linear-oblong or oblanceolate; spikes cylindric or oblong. 
Calyx villous-pubescent. 1. K. compacta. 
Calyx glabrous or nearly so. 
Stem little branched; spikes cylindric; leaflets 14’-1' long, thin. 2. K. candida. 
Stem much branched; spikes oblong; leaflets smaller, firm. . K. oligophylia. 
Leaflets narrowly linear; heads globose or short. K. multiflora, 
Flowers pink or purple. 
Leaflets 3-5; calyx silky-pubescent. 
Bracts glabrous; leaflets mucronulate. 
Bracts silky-pubescent; leaflets obtuse. 
Po 
. K. purpurea. 
. K. tenuifolia. 
5 
6 
Leaflets 13-31; calyx glabrous. 7. K. foltosa. 
8. K. villosa. 
Foliage silky-pubescent; leaflets 9-17. 
1. Kuhnistera compacta (Spreng. ) 
Kuntze. Dense-flowered Prairie- 
clover. (Fig. 2108.) 
Dalea compacta Spreng. Syst. Veg. 3: 327. 1826. 
Petalostemon macrostachyus Torr. Ann. Lyc. 2: 176. 
1828. 
Petalostemon compactus Swezey, Nebraska Flow. 
Pl. 6. 1801. 
Kuhnistera compacta Kuntze, Rev. Gen. Pl. 192. 1891. 
Erect, dotted with sessile glands, branched, 
1°-2%° high. Leaflets 5-7, glabrous, short- 
stalked, oblong-lanceolate or linear-oblong, acute 
or obtusish, dotted beneath, 6’’-12/’ long, about 
2// wide; peduncles terminal, elongated, not 
bracted; spikes cylindric, 2/-6’ long, about 6/’ 
thick, the rachis pubescent; flowers white or 
nearly so, about 2’ long; bracts awn-pointed, 
longer than the densely villous-pubescent calyx; 
wings and keel-petals oblong; standard cordate; 
pod pubescent, enclosed by the calyx. 
In dry soil, Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming. 
July-Aug. 
2. Kuhnistera candida (Willd. ) 
Kuntze. White Prairie-clover. 
(Fig. 2109.) 
Dalea candida Willd. Sp. Pl. 3: 1337. 1803. 
Petalostemon candidus Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 
49. 1803. 
Kuhns siera candida Kuntze, Rev. Gen. Pl. 192. 
1891. 
Glabrous, stems erect, assurgent, or rarely 
prostrate, simple, or sparingly branched, 1°- 
2° high. Leaves petioled; leaflets 5-9, ob- 
long, or oblanceolate, 8//—12’’ long, 1%4//-3/’ 
wide, obtusish or acute and often mu- 
cronulate at the apex, narrowed at the base, 
very short-stalked; peduncles terminal, 
elongated, bracted; spikes cylindric, 1/-4/ 
long, 5’’-6’’ thick; bracts awn-pointed, longer 
than the calyx; corolla white, 2//-3/” long; 
wings and keel-petals oval; standard cor- 
date; calyx-teeth and pod slightly pubescent. 
Prairies, Indiana to Minnesota and the North- 
west Territory, south to Louisiana, Texas and 
Colorado. July—Aug. 
19 
