LEGUMINOS;E 93 



V. heterophylla Presl. = V. cuneata G.G. A slender species 6-10 in. 

 high. Lower leaflets in pairs of 2-3, obcordate, without tendril ; upper ones in 

 pairs of 4-6, linear oblong, with a simple tendril. Flowers purple, rather small. 

 Calyx glabrescent. Pod glabrous, 25-35 mm - by 4 or 5 mm., erect and blackish 

 when ripe. V. Timbali Loret is a var. with narrow hairy leaves and larger 

 crimson flowers, not uncommon in the Var. 



Uncultivated fields, sandy pine-woods and under the olives, local. April-June. 



V. monosperma H. S. Thompson in " Journ. of Bot.," 1906, p. 409. The 

 original description in " Notes on the Flora of Porquerolles " is here transcribed 

 because only two specimens of the plant are known to exist (one is in Herb. 

 Brit. Mus.), and others are much wanted, especially as Mons. Alfred Reynier 

 considers this the same as V. pinetorum Shuttleworth = V. uncinata Rouy 

 = V. stigmatica Hanry et Thol. (a Vetch which it is difficult to get authentic 

 specimens of) and merely a form of V. angustifolia (see Reynier in " Bull, de 

 la Soc. Bot. de France," Tome 55 (1908), p. 590-4). 



" Annual, 50-60 cm. ; pubescent, erect. Leaves with 4 (rarely 5) pairs of 

 leaflets, each leaf having a simple or branched tendril ; lower leaflets opposite, 

 oval or obcordate, mucronate, upper leaflets narrowly linear lanceolate, 10-14 

 mm. long, obtuse, with a mucro, glabrescent above, with spreading hairs beneath. 

 Lower stipules toothed sagittate, upper stipules entire, lanceolate, with a purple 

 blotch. Calyx when in flower slightly hairy, with equal teeth two-thirds the 

 length of the tube, which is 5 mm. long, calyx markedly veined, the five chief 

 veins extending into long needle-like teeth. Flowers very small, scarcely exceed- 

 ing the calyx, pale violet, upper part of standard yellowish in dried specimens, 

 solitary or rarely in pairs, subsessile. Pod 15-20 mm. long by 4 mm. broad, 

 black when mature, puberulent, solitary, somewhat sickle-shaped and gradually 

 tapering into a long up-curved point. Seeds ovate, 3 mm. long, fawn-colour, 

 blotched with dark brown, not tubercular, and only one in each pod (except in 

 the case of one pod which has 2 seeds). My friend Mr. C. E. Salmon suggests 

 that the tapering at the end of the pod is due to one or more seeds having become 

 abortive. 



" A slender plant with the habit of V. angustifolia, with sometimes from S-n 

 solitary flowers in the axils of the leaves throughout the whole length of the stem. 



" It grows in the clearing of pine-woods in the Island of Porquerolles, oft 

 Hyeres, Var, France, flowering at the end of May and beginning of June." 

 Then follows a paragraph showing how it differs from several closely allied and 

 in some cases little-known Vetches. Neither the writer nor other botanists 

 have since succeeded in finding similar plants at Porquerolles. Owing to a change 

 of ownership the pine-woods in that part of the island have already undergone 

 considerable change since 1906. It may appear elsewhere and on the mainland. 

 Both Mons. Reynier in Provence and Mr. Salmon in England succeeded in 

 cultivating a seedling from seeds from the only dried specimens, but neither 

 came to maturity. We must therefore admit that failing further proof of the 

 continuity of the mono-disperme pods, the description of this Vetch as a new 

 species was somewhat premature, notwithstanding the large amount of research 

 given to the matter at the time. 



V. lathyroides L. A small species, more or less prostrate. Lower leaves 

 without tendril, with i or 2 pairs of obcordate leaflets ; upper ones with a simple 

 tendril and 3-4 pairs of oblong-lanceolate leaflets. Stipules entire, not spotted. 

 Flowers small, solitary, violet. Calyx-teeth equal. Pods glabrous, blackish and 

 erect when ripe. Seeds -almost cubical, shining, tubercular. 



Sandy places, common. April-May. The var. olbiensis Rent, et Shuttle. 

 has rarely been seen near Hyeres (Olbia). 



V. peregrlna L. Stems slender, tall, erect, or climbing. Leaves with 3-6 

 pairs of very narrow leaflets almost tridentate at the top (i.e. they are deeply 

 emarginate, with a mucro). Calyx-teeth almost equal. Flowers dull violet 

 (16-18 mm.), solitary and axillary. Pod covered with appressed hairs. Seeds 

 spotted with black. 



Cultivated ground and sandy places. May-June. 



