LEGUMINOS.E. (PULSE FAMILY.) Ill 



8. L. angUStifolia, Ell. Stem slender, 2 -3 high, closely pubescent; 

 leaves short-petioled ; leaflets linear or oblong-linear, obtuse or emarginate, 

 pubescent beneath, 1' or less long; racemes capitate, longer than the leaves ; 

 calvx nearly sessile ; legume broadly ovate, downy, as long as the calyx. 

 Dry sandy soil in the lower districts. August. 



24. DESMODIUM, DC. (HEDYSABUM, L., Ell.) 



Flowers all similar and perfect. Calyx bilabiate; the upper lip emarginate 

 or entire, the lower 3-cleft. Corolla inserted on the base of the calyx. Sta- 

 mens diadelphous (9 & 1), or more or less niouadelphous. Legume flattened, 

 2-6-joiuted. Chiefly perennial branching herbs. Leaves trifoliolate, peti- 

 oled, stipulate ; the leaflets petiolulate and stipellate. Flowers small, purple 

 or whitish, in terminal racemes or panicles (except the last). Legumes hispid 

 with hooked hairs. 



1. Stamens monadelphous below: legumes conspicuously st/pttate, 2 4-jointed , 

 the joints hcilf-obovate, concave on the back. 



1. D. pauciflorum, Nutt. Stem low, ascending, mostly simple, leafy ; 

 leaves scattered, long-petioled ; leaflets thin, acute, ciliate, pale beneath, the 

 lateral ones ovate, the terminal one rhombic-ovate ; stipules minute ; racemes 

 terminal, 4 - 8-flowered, mostly shorter than the leaves. Shady woods, 

 Florida to Tennessee. August. Stem 1 high. Leaflets l'-2' long. Co- 

 rolla pale purple or white. 



2. D. acuminatum, DC. Stem pubescent, leafy at the summit ; leaves 

 large, long-petioled ; leaflets smoothish, ovate or roundish, acuminate ; raceme 

 or panicle terminal, long-peduncled, many-flowered. Rich shady soil. July - 

 August. Plant 2 - 3 high. Leaflets thin, 2' - 4' long. 



3. D. nudiflorum, DC. Stem smooth, short, leafy at the summit; 

 panicle ascending from the base of the stem, naked, or with one or two leaves 

 near the base, much longer than the stem ; leaves long-petioled, smooth ; leaf- 

 lets ovate, acute or obtuse, white beneath; legume long-stipitate. Rich 

 woods. July -August. Stem 6'- 12' high. Racemes simple or compound, 

 on peduncles 2 - 3 high. 



2. Stamens diadelphons : legume sessile or short-stipitate. 



* Stipules large, ovate (except No. 9), acuminate, persistent: legume 3-6-jointed, 



the joints convex on the upper suture, rounded on the lower one. 



4. D. canescens, DC. Stem tall, rough-hairy, striate; leaflets ovate, 

 mostly acute, very rough, especially beneath ; panicle large, very hairy ; bracts 

 large, ovate, acuminate ; joints of the legume 3 - 5, connected by a broad neck. 

 Dry open woods. July -August. Plant 3 -5 high, much branched, 

 pale green. Leaflets 1-^'- 3' long. Flowers large. 



5. D. tortUOSUm, DC. Stem tall, much branched, softly pubescent; 

 leaflets rhombic or elliptical, obtuse and often emarginate, tomentose beneath, 

 rough above; racemes panicled, slender; flowers 2-3 together, on slender 

 pedicels; legume nearly sessile, black; the small joints oval or rhombic, 

 equally convex on both sutures. Waste places. Introduced. Sept. Stem 

 3 -5 high. Leaflets 3'- 4' long. Legume 1' long, pendulous. Flowers small 



