108 PULSE FAMILY. 



28. WISTARIA. (Named for Prof. Wistar of Philadelphia.) Very omar 

 mental woody twiners : fl. spring. 



"W. frutescens, American W. Wild along streams W. and S., and 

 cult, for ornament; soft-downy when young, with 9-15 lance-ovate leaflets, 

 a dense raceme of showy blue-purple flowers, the calyx narrowish, wing-petals 

 each with one short and one very long appendage at the base of the blade, and 

 a smooth ovary. 



W. Sinensis, Chinese W. Cult, from China or Japan, barely hardy in 

 New Enghind, faster growing (sometimes 20° in a season) and higher climbing 

 than the other, with longer and more pendent racemes, wing-petals appendaged 

 on one side only, and a downy ovary. Often flowering twice in the season. 



29. APIOS, GROUND-NUT, WILD BEAN. (Name from Greek word 

 for pear, from the shape of the tubers. ) ^ 



A. tuberdsa. Wild in low grounds ; subterranean shoots bearing strings 

 of edible farinaceous tubers l'-2' long; stems slender, rather hairy ; leaflets 

 ovate-lanceolate ; flowers brownish-purple, violet-scented, crowded in short and 

 thick racemes, in late summer and autumn. 



30. ERYTHRINA. (From Greek word for red, which is the usual color 

 of the flowers.) 



E. herb^cea. Wild in sandy soil near the coast S. ; sending up herba- 

 ceous stems 2° - 4° high from a thick woody root or base, some leafy, the leaf- 

 lets broadly triangular-ovate ; others nearly leafless, terminating in a long erect 

 raceme of narrow scarlet flowers, of which the straight and folded lanceolate 

 standard (2' long) is the only conspicuous part ; seeds scarlet : fl. spring. 



E. Crista-galli. Cult, in conservatories, from Brazil ; with a tree-like 

 trunk, oval or oblong leaflets, and loose racemes of crimson large flowers, the 

 keel as well as the broad spreading standard conspicuous, the rudimentary wings 

 hidden in the calyx. 



31. PHASEOLUS, BEAN, KIDNEY BEAN. (An ancient name of 

 the Bean.) Fl. summer and autumn. 



* Native species, small-flowered. 



P. per6linis. From Connecticut and Illinois S. in woody places ; slender 



stems climbing high ; leaflets roundish-ovate, short-pointed ; racemes long and 

 loose, often panicled ; flowers small, purple ; pods drooping, scimitar-shaped, 

 few-seeded. 2/ 



P. diversif61ius. Sandy shores, &c. : spreading on the ground, with 

 rough hairy stems, ovate entire or commonly 3-lobcd or angled leaflets, pedun- 

 cles twice the length of the leaves, bearing a small cluster of purplish or at length 

 grcenisli flowers, and linear nearly terete strtiight poas. (T) 



P. helvolus. Sandy soil, from New Jersey and Illinois S. : more slen- 

 der than the preceding, sometimes twining a little, with the ovate or oblong 

 leaflets entire or obscurely angled, peduncles several times surpassing the leaves, 

 flowers pale purple, and ])ods narrower. 2/ 



P. paucifldrus. River-banks W. & S. : spreading over the ground, also 

 twining more or less, slender, pubescent, with small oblong-lanceolate or linear 

 ■ leaflets, few and small ])urplish flowers on a short peduncle, the keel merely 

 incurved, and the straight flat pod only 1 ' long. (1) 



* * Exotic species, cultivated mainly for food, all with ovate pointed leaflets. ® 



P. vulgaris, Common Kidney, String, and Pole Be.vn. Twining, 

 with racemes of white or sometimes dull purplish or variegated flowers shorter 

 than the leaf, linear straight pods, and tumid seeds. Many varieties, among 

 which nuiy be reckoned the next. 



P. nanus, Dwarf or Field Bean ; low and bushy, not twining ; seeds 

 very tumid. 



P. lunktus, Lima Bean, Sieva B., &c. Twining, with racemes of 

 small greenish-white flowers shorter than the leaf, and broad and curved or 

 scimitar-shaped pods, containing few large and flat seeds. 



