110 LEGUMIKOS^;. (PULSE FAMILY.) 



* Flowers of two kinds, r/~. perfect, but mostly sterile, borne in spikes or racemes, 



and fertile, but destitute of corolla and stamens ; the latter commonly in sessile 

 clusters : corolla purple, lomjer than the calyx. 



\. L. repens, Torr. & Gray. Stem slender, prostrate; leaflets small, 

 oval, mostly emargiuate, the petiole very short, or as loug as the lateral leaf- 

 lets ; racemes few-flowered, 011 filiform peduncles much longer than the leaves ; 

 legume rouudish. (L. procumbens, Miclix.) Dry sandy soil, Florida to 

 Mississippi, aud northward. August. Plant l-2 long, smooth or 

 tomentose. 



2. L. violacea, Pers. Stem widely branched above, sparsely appressed- 

 pubescent ; the brauchlets and peduncles setaceous ; leaflets oval or oblong, 

 glabrous above ; peduncles diverging, few-flowered ; flowers violet ; legumes 

 ovate, acute. Dry sandy or rocky woods. August. Stem 2 -3 high. 

 Leaves 1' long. 



3. L. reticulata, Pers. Stem mostly simple, very leafy ; leaflets linear 

 or oblong-linear, pubescent beneath ; racemes very numerous, the lower shorter 

 than the leaves, the upper glomerate ; flowers purple ; legume ovate, acute. 

 With the preceding. 



4. L. Stuvei, Nutt. Stem erect, branching, softly pubescent; leaflets 

 oval or oblong, tomeutose or silky on both surfaces, or only beneath, longer 

 than the petiole ; racemes axillary, mostly longer than the leaves ; flowers 

 nearly all perfect and fertile ; legume longer than the calyx, ovate, villous. 

 Dry sterile soil. August. 



* * Flowers in axillary cluster-like racemes, the fertile with a, partially developed 



corolla.: calyx lobes ovate : stipules persistent : root annual. 



5. L. striata, Hook. & Arnott. Annual, erect or prostrate, appressed 

 pubescent; leaflets oblong-obovate ; stipules thin, strongly veined, twice as 

 long as the petioles, persistent; racemes shorter than the leaves, 1-5-flow- 

 ered ; calyx veiny, the ovate teeth shorter than the round ovate reticulate 

 legume ; flowers purple. Fields and waste ground. Introduced. Stems 

 6' -12' long. 



* * * Flowers all perfect and fertile : corolla as long as the calyx, yellowish 



white, the vexillum spotted with purple : legume included in the calyx. 



6. L. hirta, Ell. Stem erect, pubescent or villous; leaflets oval or 

 roundish, longer than the petiole, pubescent beneath or on botli sides; spikes 

 dense, on peduncles longer than the leaves; calyx teeth linear lanceolate, as 

 long as the ovate pubescent legume. Dry barren soil. August. Stem 2- 

 4 high. 



7. L. capitata, Michx. Stem mostly simple, villous ; leaves nearly ses- 

 sile ; leaflets rather rigid, lanceolate or oblong, smooth above ; racemes capi- 

 tate ; calyx lobes hairy, as long as the corolla, longer than the oblong-ovate 

 legume. Dry sterile soil in the upper districts. August. Stem 2 -4 

 high. Leaves 1'- 2' long. 



Var. sericea, Hook. & Am. Stem branching; leaflets oblong, silky- 

 canescent on both sides; racemes crowded. Low ground along the coast. 

 August. 



