PULSE FAMILY. Leguminosas. 



Lespedeza The flowers of this species are clustered 



capitata in small round heads terminating a stiff, 



White straight stalk, which is silky hairy. The 



leaves have three oblong leaflets, and are 

 nearly stemless. The flowers are similar to the fore- 

 going species, or they are white, magenta streaked. 

 Visited by the leaf -cutter bee (Megachile brevis) among 

 many others. 2-4 feet high. Same situations everywhere. 

 Common Vetch A climbing annual adventive from Eu- 

 Vida sativa rope where it is cultivated for fodder ; one 

 Purple of t} ie genus is also extensively cultivated 



May-August - n Italv> notably about Nap i es , and in the 



vicinity of Pompeii. The flowers, which are purple or 

 even magenta-pink, grow in pairs or singly at the junc- 

 tion of stem with leaf-stalk. The 8-10 leaflets are obtuse 

 oblong, notched at the tip, and the stalk terminates in 

 two twining tendrils. The pod resembles that of the 

 pea, but it is long and slender. Stem 1-3 feet long. N. 

 Eng., south, and west to Minn, and S. Dak. 

 Cow Vetch A perennial, and graceful plant climbing 



Vida Cracca by tendrils, and characterized by a fine, 

 Light violet downy hairiness. The compound leaf has 

 June-August twenty or more lance-shaped leaflets ter- 

 minated abruptly by a bristlelike point. The small 

 bean-blossomlike flower is light violet, the upper petal is 

 lined with a deeper violet ; the cluster is sometimes quite 

 four inches long, and is one-sided ; it grows from be- 

 tween the leaf -stalk and the plant-stem. The color of 

 the foliage is rather gray olive green. Fruit like a small 

 pea-pod. Stem 2-3 feet long. Dry soil, on the borders 

 of thickets, and cultivated fields. Me. and N. J., west 

 to Iowa and Minn. 



Easily distinguished from the foregoing 



by its generally smooth character and its 

 Light violet obtuse elliptical leaflets which are less in 



number (8-14) and distinctly veined. The 

 light violet flowers are larger, and only 3-9 form the 

 rather loose cluster. 2-3 feet long. In moist soil. Me., 

 south to Va. and Ky., and west to Nev. The Vicias 

 are in general cross-fertilized w T ith the assistance of the 



222 



Vicia 



