232. XLVI. LEGUMINOSAE. DesmopiuM. 
cies than either of the preceding, found in woods, U.S. and Can. Stem branch- 
ing, erect, 4—95f high. Leaflets 3’ long, widest at base, smooth, entire, pointed. 
Stipules of the leaves ovate, long-acuminate, of the leaflets awl-shaped. Flow- 
ers large, purple, with conspicuous bracts. Pods in about six joints, long, pen- 
dulous, rough. Aug. 
8. D. MariLanpicum. Boott. (D. obtusum. DC. H. Marilandicum. Linn.) 
Plant erect, branching, hairy; /fts. ovate, obtuse, subcordate at base; 
stip. subulate ; panicle terminal; joints of the loment roundish, reticulate, hispid. 
—Woods, N. States to Flor. Stem 2—3f high. Leaflets 3—1’long, 3 as wide. 
Flowers violet-purple, small. Loment 1—3-jointed. Aug. 
9. D. cmiire. DC. (H. ciliare. Willd.) Fringed Desmodium. 
Plant erect, slender, subpubescent ; vs. crowded, on short, hairy petioles; 
ifts. small, ovate, short-stalked, pubescent beneath, ciliate on the margin; stip. 
filiform, caducous ; panicle termina], the lower branches much longer; joints 
of the loment 2 or 3, half-orbicular, hispid, reticulate——Woods, N. Eng. to La. 
eight 2f. Flowers purple. Aug. 
10. D. ricipum. DC. (H. rigidum. Ell.) 
Erect, branching, rough-pubescent; /fts. ovate-oblong, obtuse, terminal 
one the longest; petiole short, hairy; stip. acuminate, ciliate, caducous; rac. 
paniculate, very long; leg. with 2—3 semi-oval or semi-obovate joints.—Hills 
and woods, Mass. to La. Stem 2—3f high, often with numerous, long, erect, 
rigid branches. Leaflets 1—3’ long, 4 as wide, rather coriaceous, reticulately 
veined. Flowers violet-purple. Aug. ‘ 
11. D. panicuatum. DC. (H. paniculatum. Linn.) 
Plant erect, smooth ; /fts. thin, oblong-lanceolate; stip. subulate; panicle 
terminal, with long and slender pedicels; bracts lanceolate ; joints of the loment 
rhomboidal.—A handsome species, near 3f in height, found in woods, U.S. and 
Can. Stem slender, striate. Leaves of 3, smooth, narrow leaflets, broadest at 
the base, tapering to an obtuse point, about 3’ in length, with subulate, decidu- 
ous bracts. Pods 4—5 jointed, large. Flowers purple, numerous. Ji. Aug. 
12. D. rotunpirotium. DC. (H. rotundifolium. Linn. 
St. prostrate, hairy; /fts. suborbicular, hairy on both sides; bracts broadly 
ovate, acuminate; rac. few-flowered; joints of the loment subrhomboidal.—A 
hairy, prostrate plant, 2—3f in length, found in rocky woods throughout the 
U.S. Leaves of 3 roundish leaflets, pale beneath, 1—2’ diam., on hairy stalks. 
Stipules cordate, reflexed, hairy. Flowers purple, in axillary and terminal 
racemes. Pods about 6-jointed. Aug. 
13. D. pumirisum. Beck. (H.humifusum. Muhl.) Prostrate Desmodium. 
St. procumbent, striate, nearly smooth ; /fts. oval, sub-pubescent; stip. 
persistent; 7ac. axillary and terminal; leg. of 2—4 obtusely 4-angled joints.— 
‘Woods, Waltham, Mass. Bigelow, Penn. Muhl. A species much resembling 
the last, but the whole plant is much smoother, with smaller and narrower 
bracts. Stem 2—3flong. Leaflets oval or ovate,subacute. Aug. 
14. D. viriirLorum. Beck. (Hedys. virid. Linn.) 
St. erect, densely pubescent and scabrous above; //ts. ovate, mostly ob- 
tuse, scabrous above, softly villous beneath; stip. ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 
caducous ; panicle very long, leafless; cal. very hairy, upper lip bifid; leg. of 3—4 
triangular joints—Alluvial soils, N. Y. to Flor. and La. Stem 3—4f high, 
_ rigid, branched. Leaflets 2—3/ long. Corolla violet, turning green in withering. 
Legume 1—2’ long. 
15. D. paeviedtum? DC. (H. levigatum. Nutt.) 
Glabrous; sf. simple, erect; dvs. on long petioles; Z/ts. ovate or oblong- 
ovate, rather obtuse; stip. subulate, minute and deciduous; panicle terminal, 
nearly simple; fis. in pairs, on elongated pe@icels; bracts ovate, very small; 
upper lip of calyx emarginate, segments of the lower lip lanceolate, lowest one 
acuminate, half as long as the corolla—Woods, N. J. Nutt. Harper’s Ferry ! 
The smoothest of our Desmodia, 2—3fhigh. Leaflets rather coriaceous, 1—2}! 
long, 3—1}/ wide. Pedicels 5—8” long. Flowers purple? Sept.—My speci- 
mens, as well as those of Nuttall, are without fruit. 
