80 LEGUMINOS.*:. 



16. DESMODIUM. D. C. Desmodium. 



(From the Greek <fe?f<o?, a chain, and e<&>j, form ; the articulated pods re- 

 sembling a chain.) 



Calyx with two bracts at base, obscurely bilabiate to the mid- 

 dle ; upper lip bifid ; lower one 3 -parted. Corolla papiliona- 

 ceous. Standard roundish ; keel obtuse, not truncate ; wings 

 longer than the keel. Stamens diadelphous (9 and 1) ; fila- 

 ments subpersistent. Legume with many joints ; joints com- 

 pressed, 1 -seeded, membranaceous or coriaceous, scarcely de- 

 hiscent. 



1. D. Canadense D. C. : stem erect, hairy, striate ; leaves ternate ; teaf- 

 ets oblong -lanceolate, much longer than the petioles, nearly smooth above ; 

 stipules lanceolate ; racemes terminal and in the axils of the uppermost 

 leaves ; joints of the legume 3 4, ovate-triangular, truncate at both ends, 

 hispid. He.dysarum Canadense Linn. 



Dry woods. Can. to Car. W. to Miss. July. 1\..Stem 36 feet high, 

 often branched. Leafets 2 3 inches long. Flowers pale violet blue. 



Canadian Desmodium. 



2. D. canescens D. C. : stem erect, branching, striate, hairy and scabrous ; 

 leafets ovate, rather acute, scabrous, pubescent on both sides; stipules large, 

 obliquely ovate, acuminate ; flowers in a loose terminal panicle ; legume 

 with 4 or 5 oblong-triangular reticulated strongly hispid joints. D. Akin- 

 ianum Beck BoL 1st Ed. Hedysarum viridiflorum Pursh. Z>. C. H. canes- 

 cens Linn. 



Dry woods. Can. to Flor. July, Aug. Ij.. Stem 3 5 feet high, more or 

 less hairy. Leafets 2 4 inches long, hairy on both sides, the shorter hairs un- 

 cinate. Flowers violet-purple. Hoary Desmodium. 



3. D. Marylandicum Boolt : stem erect, simple, slender, nearly smooth ; 

 leafets (small) ovate, very obtuse, often subcordate, thin ; petiole as long 

 as the lateral leafets, smooth ; stipules lanceolate-subulate, caducous ; pan- 

 icle elongated; legume with 2 3 hispid somewhat semiorbicular joints. 

 D. obtusum D. C. Hedysarum Marylandicum Linn, and H. oUusum 

 Pursh. 



Fields and woods. N. Y. to Flor. and Louis. July, Aug. 7J.. Stem 2 3 

 feet high, nearly smooth. Leafets about three-fourths of an inch long. Flowers 

 small, violef-purple, in a terminal panicle. Smooth Small-leaved Desmodium. 



4. D. Dillenii Darlingt. : stem erect, branching, pilose ; leafets oblong 

 or ovate-oblong, somewhat glaucous and villous beneath; stipules sub- 

 ulate ; racemes slender, forming a loose terminal panicle ; legume with 

 3 4 rhomboid reticulated hispid joints. D. Marylandicum D. C. Hedy- 

 sarvm Marylandicum Pursh. 



Dry woods. Ma?s. to Penn. W. to Ken. Aug. 1J-. Stem 2 3 feet high. 

 Leafets 1$ 3 inches long, obtuse, sometimes acute. Flowers purple, becoming 

 bluish-green. DiHenius's Desmodium. 



5. D. mridiftorum Beck : stem erect ; leaves ternate ; leafets ovate, ob- 

 tuse, scabrous on the upper surface, villous and very soft beneath ; panicle 



