144 LEGUMINOS^. (pulse FAMILY.) 



obtuse (about 2' long) ; peduncles mamj-Jioicered. ; flowers 6 - 8'' long. — Shadj 

 banks, Penn. to Ga., west to Kan. and Minn. 



4. L. palustris, L. Slender, glabrous or somewbat pubescent; stem 

 often winged; stipules lanceolate, sbarp-pointed at both ends; leaflets 2-4 

 pairs, narroivli/ oblong to linear, acute (1 -2' long) ; peduncles 2-6flowered; 

 flowers 6" long. — Moist places, N. Scotia to N. J., and westAvard across the 

 continent. (Eu.) 



Var. myrtifblius, Gray. Stipules usually broader and larger ; leaflets 

 ovate to oblong (1' long or less). — Same range, and extending south to N. C. 

 -)- -I- Flowers yellow ; leaflets a single pair. 



L. PRATENSis, L. Low and straggling; leaflets narrowly lanceolate to 

 linear, acute ; peduncles several-flowered. — Spontaneous in Mass., N. Y., and 

 Out. (Nat. from Eu.) 



* * * Tendrils usmdly wanting ; low, mosdi/ erect ; stipules semi-sagittate ; flow- 

 ers i-erij large, purple ; pod stipitate in the cal//x. 



5. L. polymorphus, Nutt. Leaflets 3-6 pairs, narrowly oblong to 

 linear, thick and strongly nerved, 1-2' long; seeds with a narrow footstalk 

 and short hilum. — Mo., Kan., and westward. 



6. L. ornatus, Nutt. Like the last, but leaflets always narrow, 3-12" 

 long ; seeds with a very broad footstalk and long hilum. — Ivan, to Col. and 

 Dak. Scarcely 1^ high. 



32. A PI OS, Boerhaave. Ground-nut. Wild Bean. 



Calyx soniewliat 2-lipped, the 2 lateral teeth being nearly obsolete, the upper 

 very short, the lower one longest. Standard very broad, reflexed ; the long 

 scythe-sha])ed keel strongly incurved, at length coiled. Stamens diadelphous. 

 Pod straight or slightly curved, linear, elongated, thickish, many-seeded. — A 

 perennial herb (with some milky juice!), twining and climbing over bushes, 

 and bearing edible tubers on underground shoots. Leaflets 3 - 7, ovate-lan- 

 ceolate, obscurely stipellate. Flowers in dense and short, often brandling 

 racemes. (Name from awiov, a pear, from the shape of the tubers.) 



1. A. tuberbsa, Moench. Flowers brown-purple or chocolate-color, violet- 

 scented. — Low grounds, N. Brunswick to Fla., west to Minn., Kan., and La. 



33. PHASEOLUS, Touru. Kidney Bean. 



Calyx .5-toothed or 5-cIeft, the two upper teeth often higher united. Keel of 

 the corolla, with the included stamens and style, spirally coiled. Stamens dia- 

 delphous. Style bearded along the upper side; stigma oblique or lateral. 

 Pod scythe-shaped, several -many-seeded, tipped with the hardened base of 

 the style. Seeds round-reniform, with very short hilum. Cotyledons thick 

 and fleshy, rising out of the ground nearly unchanged in germination. — Twin- 

 ing herbs, with pinnately 3-foliolate stipellate leaves. Flowers racemose, pro- 

 duced in summer and autumn. (The ancient name of the Kidney Bean.) 



1. P. perennis, Walt. (Wild Bean.) Stem climbing high from a 

 perennial root ; leaflets roundish-ovate, short-pointed ; flowers purple, hand- 

 some, but small; pods drooping, strongly curved, 4-.5-seeded. — Copses, N. 

 Eng. to Fla., west to Minn, and La. 



