222 SUMMER FLOWERS. 



{76) Vicia. Vetch. 



* Peduncles sJiort, few -flower ed ; calyx gibhous at the hase on 

 one side. 



V. sepium: stems 1-2 feet liigli^ weak, straggling, but 

 scarcely climbing ; stipules small, entire, or larger and toothed ; 

 leaflets 4-6 pairs, ovate or oblong, the leafstalk tendrilled ; 

 flowers smallish, light reddish-purple, 2-4 in the axils of the 

 upper leaves, forming a sessile cluster or very short raceme ; 

 style with a dense tuft of hairs under the stigma on the outer 

 side, with a few short hairs on the opposite side ; pod glabrous ; 

 seeds few. — Woods, shady places_, and hedges. Fl. June to 

 August. 



** Peduncles elongated, many -flowered. 

 t Calyx gibbous at the base. 



V. Cracca : stems weak, climbing by means of branched 

 tendrils, to the length of 2-3 feet or more, hairy, or nearly 

 glabrous ; stipules narrow and entire ; leaflets numerous, ob- 

 long or linear; flowers numerous, in one-sided racemes, on 

 peduncles rather longer than the leaves, of a fine bluish- 

 purple ; style hairy all round below the stigma ; pod flattened, 

 glabrous. — Hedges and bushy places. Fl. June to August. 



V. sylvatica : stems 6-8 feet long, glabrous, climbing ; 

 stipules deeply divided at their base; leaflets usually 8-10 

 pairs, oblong, or the lower ones ovate, obtuse or notched at 

 the top ; flowers considerably longer than in the last, white 

 with bluish streaks, drooping in long racemes ; pod glabrous, 

 broad. — Woods and bushy places. Fl. June to August. 



tt Calyx equal at the base. 



V. tetrasperma : annual ; stems glabrous or nearly so, weak, 

 often climbing, J-2 feet long ; leaflets narrow, the lower ones 



