108 LEGUMINOS^S. (PULSE FAMILY.) 



ate ; calyx-teeth short, triangular ; fertile legumes hairy. (A. monoica and A. 

 sarmentosa, Ell.) Rich soil, Florida to Mississippi, and northward. August 

 and Sept. 



34. GALACTIA, P. Browne 



Calyx 4-toothed, the upper one broadest. Vexillum oblong or obovate, re- 

 flexed in flower. Stamens diadelphous. Legume more or less compressed, 

 2-valved, few - many-seeded. Prostrate or twining, rarely erect, perennial herbs, 

 with chiefly trifoliolate leaves, and mostly small purplish or white flowers in ax- 

 illary racemes. Bracts alternate and deciduous. Leaflets stipellate. 



* Leaves trifoliolate, with the leaflets stalked : stems twining or prostrate. 



1. G. spiciformis, Torr. Gray. Stem twining, minutely pubescent; 

 leaflets (!' long) thick and rigid, oblong-oval, obtuse or emarginate at both ends, 

 smooth above, pubescent beneath ; racemes spike-like, mostly longer than the 

 leaves, the nearly sessile, mostly solitary flowers scattered on the common pedun- 

 cle nearly to its base ; corolla 2-3 times the length of the acuminate hairy calyx- 

 lobes ; legume coriaceous, compressed, falcate, thickened at the sutures, sprinkled 

 with short appressed hairs, 6 - 10-seeded. Varies with a stouter more pubescent 

 and almost villous stem, larger ( l' - 2'), thinner, and mostly acute leaflets, longer 

 and stouter many-flowered racemes, and nearly straight legumes. (G. brevistyla, 

 Schlect.) South Florida. Aug. and Sept. 



2. G. pilosa, Ell. Stem twining, pubescent or smoothish, much branched ; 

 leaflets thin, varying from oval to linear-oblong, obtuse, rounded or emarginute 

 at both ends, pubescent and paler beneath, often smooth above ; racemes slender, 

 commonly longer than the leaves, sometimes 4-6 times as long ; flowers single 

 or 2 - 3 together, scattered on the common peduncle, distinctly pedicelled, acu- 

 minate in the bud ; calyx sparse-hairy or smoothish, the acuminate lobes much 

 shorter than the purple corolla ; legume nearly straight, somewhat compressed, 

 covered with short appressed hairs, 10-seeded. (G. mollis, Nutt. G. Macreei, 

 M. A. Curtis.) Dry soil, Florida to Mississippi, and northward. July and 

 August. Stem often elongated. Leaflets '-l'long. Racemes occasionally 

 2-3 together. 



3. G. mollis, Michx. Villous and somewhat hoary ; stems mostly pros- 

 trate and simple ; leaflets oval or oblong, obtuse or emarginate at both ends, or 

 the upper ones acute ; racemes single, about twice the length of the leaves, the 

 short-pedicelled flowers approximate near the summit of the stout peduncle, 

 acute in the bud ; calyx, like the straight 10-seeded compressed legume, very vil- 

 lous and hoary. (G. pilosa, Nutt.) Dry sandy pine barrens, Florida to North 

 Carolina, and westward. July and August. Stem 2 - 3 long. Leaflets 1 ' 

 long. Corolla reddish purple, one third longer than the acute calyx-lobes. 



4. G. Ploridana, Torr. & Gray. Hoary-pubescent ; stems prostrate ; 

 leaflets oval or oblong, rarely acute, reticulate ; racemes simple or branched, 

 often by pairs, many-flowered, rarely longer than the leaves ; flowers large, ap- 

 proximate; legume flat, 10-seeded. Var. microphylla: every way smaller, the 

 leaflets (^'-|' long) acute or emarginate, the few flowers almost sessile in axil- 



