450 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 



shaped kccl. Flowers, in short, thick racemes, on axillary 

 peduncles, pleasantly scented. Sfetfis, slender, somewhat 

 hairy, with a little milky juice, climbing and massing over 

 bushes. Pods produce kidney-shaped beans, variously and 

 prettily marked and colored. 



This plant bears strings of underground, edible tubers, joined 

 by offshoots. It is of prolific growth. Found in low, generally 

 wet grounds, from New England to Florida and westward. 



20. Kidney-bean 



Phaseo/us perennis. — Fami/j, Pulse. Co/or, purple. Leaves, 

 3-divided, with roundish to ovate-pointed leaflets. Time, July 

 to September. 



Calyx, 5-toothed, the 2 upper divisions somewhat united. 

 Corolla, papilionaceous, with a spirally coiled keel, including 

 stamens and style. Pod, long, curved, 4 to 5-seeded, tipped 

 with the base of the style. 



Flowers in short or long racemes, often crowded. One of our 

 prettiest climbers, overtopping shrubs and stout herbs, displaying 

 handsome flowers and graceful leaves, making many rough and 

 bare spots soft and beautiful. Roadsides, thickets, etc., from 

 Connecticut to Illinois, southward to Florida. 



The garden kidney or string bean, P. vulgaris, was probably 

 imported from South America by Spanish slave-traders. 



From before the time when Daniel and his three friends begged 

 for a diet of pulse (beans) in exchange for the king's table, this 

 vegetable has been esteemed a valuable food. 



21. Hog-peanut 



Amphicarpaea monoica. — Family, Pulse. Color, pink or 

 purplish. Leaves of 3 thin, delicate, ovate, pointed leaHets. 

 Time, August and September. 



Corolla, papilionaceous. Flowers, numerous, in nodding 

 racemes. Pod, 1 inch long. Low plants with twining stems, 

 which are covered with brown hairs. 



