Dicotyledones. 67 



PRAIRIE APPLE or TURNIP. 4 to 18 inches high from a tuberous root. Densely 

 hairy all over. Leaves digitately 5-foliate. Leaflets mostly obovate or obovate- 

 oblong. Peduncles often longer than the petioles, bearing dense, oblong, spikelike 

 racemes. Calyx nearly equaling the bluish corolla. Prairies. 



IV. AMORPHA. False Indigo. 



(Gr., amorphos, deformed, from the absence of 4 petals.) 



Shrubs, with odd-pinnate, glandular-punctate leaves. Flowers mostly 

 violet or purple. Corolla consisting of the standard alone, the wings 

 and keel wanting. Stamens 10, monadelphous below, anthers all alike. 

 Pod i-2-seeded. 



i. Amorpha fruticbsa, L. (L., fruticosus, shrubby.) FALSE INDIGO. A 

 rather tall shrub. Leaflets 11-21, elliptic to oblong. Flowers dense in solitary or 

 clustered spicate racemes. Standard violet-purple. River banks and hillsides. 



2. Amorpha microphylla, Pursh. (Gr., mikros, small ; phyllon, leaf.) FRA- 

 GRANT FALSE INDIGO. A bushy shrub, scarcely exceeding i foot in height, 

 nearly glabrous. Standard purplish. Flowers fragrant; racemes mostly solitary. 

 Prairies. 



V. ROBINIA. Locust Tree. 

 (Named for John Robin, herbalist to Henry IV. of France.) 



Trees or shrubs, with odd-pinnate leaves and racemes of showy 

 flowers. Stipules often spiny. Calyx 5-toothed, the 2 upper teeth 

 somewhat united. Standard broad and reflexed. Stamens diadel- 

 phous. Ovary several-ovuled. Pods linear and flat, becoming mar- 

 gined on the seed-bearing edge. 



i. Robinia Pseudacacia, L. (Gv.^pseudcs, false + acacia.) COMMON LOCUST 

 TREE or FALSE ACACIA. Becoming a large tree. Leaflets 9-19; stalked, ovate 

 or oval. Stipules often spiny. Flowers white and fragrant in loose, drooping 

 racemes. Twigs, petioles, and pods glabrous. Extensively planted. 



vi. ASTRAGALUS. 



(Ancient Greek name of a leguminous plant.) 



Chiefly perennial herbs, with odd-pinnate leaves and flowers in 

 racemes. Stamens diadelphous with the anthers all alike. Calyx 

 tubular, the teeth nearly equal. Standard narrow and the keel of the 

 corolla blunt. Pod somewhat turgid, the sutures often projecting so as 

 to divide the cavity into two. 



i. Astragalus caryocarpus, Ker. (Gr., katyon, a nut ; karpos, fruit.) GROUND 

 PLUM. Flowers violet-purple, about | inch long, in short racemes. Pods globose 



