rriADELPHIA. DECANUlilA. 97 



cjr oblon.c^-elliptic, inucronulate; racemes many-flowered, 

 Idng-er than t!ie leaves. Hab. On tlie ,^ras.>y alluvial 

 ])lains of the Missouri, from its cfvnfluer.ce to its soui*ces? 

 riowers as larg"e as those of Pi.ium maritimiim, and of a fine 

 purple, variable however in size as Well as the leaves, 

 lience it appears to be X decaphi/Jlus, I'h. 2. p. 471. ari'l 

 Ticiastipnlacea of the same, 2- p. 739. as both these speci- 

 fic names are inexpressive and deceptive, 1 could not in 

 candour do otherwise than reject tliem. 



Latbyrus containing near 40 species, is almost exclu- 

 sively European; there are, at t!ie same time, species \a 

 Northern Africa, 3 around Monte Video, ajid I at the 

 Straits of Ma^ellaa, near the extremity of South America. 



4Sr. VIC I A. Z. (Vetch.) 



Scigma transversely bearded on the under 

 side, Calix emarginate and liidentate above, 

 tiie 3 lower dentures long and straight. VcxU- 

 lum cmarginate. 



Stem erect or scandent, often slender; leaves psendo- 

 pinnate; stipules small; fiov/ers in pedurvculate spikes, or 

 from 1 to 3, subsessile and axillary. 



Species. 1. V. pusilla. 2. satlva. 3. americana. 4. 

 syl-jatica. Hab. On the alluvial banks of the Missouri as 

 far as Fort Mandan. Leaflets a little more obtuse than 

 usual. 5. Cracca. Much smaliei- than the European plant 

 and probably distinct. 6. caroliniana. 



A genus of near 50 species almost exclucively indige- 

 nous to Europe. In this genus is included the common 

 Bean (Vicia Faba), so important an article of diet, said 

 to be still spontaneous net far from the Caspian Sea, on the 

 confines of Persia. 



498. PHACA. i. (Bastard Vetch.) 



Caidiia obtuse. Style beardless. Stigma ca- 

 pitate. Legume 1 -celled, somewiiat turgid, the 

 upper suture internally tumid and seminiferous. 

 JJecandolle. 



Habit similar to Astragalus. 



Species. 1. P. villosa. ArAm^mlns vUlostiz. Mich. 

 This species ought to be compared with P. boetica. Has 

 On sandy hills in the Pine forests of South Carolina and 

 Georgia, and on the h'gh hills of tli^ Missouri to its sou"- 

 VOL. II. I 



