PSIDIUM 



seen by nu.— P. TWa. Griseb. Argentina. Another recent in- 

 troduction by Mr. Swingle.— Several other edible-fniited spe- 

 cies are known, but are not introduced in this country. 



Jos. BuRTT Davy. 

 PSOBALEA (Greek, warty; referring to glands on the 

 foliage). Leguminosce. Scurfy Pea. A genus of 

 about 110 species of herbs, shrubs or subshrubs widely 

 scattered about the world, 30 being North American. 

 Lvs. glandular-dotted; Ifts. 3 to many and digitate or 3 

 and pinnate: lis. purple, blue, rose or white, 

 in racemes or spikes; calyx not enlarged 

 after flowering: standard ovate or orbicular, 

 clawed; wing oblong or falcate ; keel in- 

 curved, obtuse: ovary sessile; pod ovoid, 

 short, indehiscent, 1-seeded. Useful border 

 plants. 



A. Plants hardy. 

 B. No. of Ifts. 7. 



about 1 ft. high, i 

 merous, usually purple fls. 

 in ovate or oblong, dense 

 spikes: Ifts. 7, digitate, 

 obovate-oblong, 1 in. long : 

 fl.-stem longer than lvs., 

 rigid. April-June. Rocky 

 hills, Tenn. 



BB. No. of Ifts. S. 



f. ira. digitately com- 

 pound. 



lanceol&ta, Pnrsh. Per- 

 ennial herb, much 

 branched, glabrous or 

 nearly so, den.sely dark- 

 glandular, 1-2 ft. high: 

 Ifts. sessile, bright green, 

 entire, linear or oblance- 

 olate: fls.bluish white, 3 linc.,u6. „u 

 July. Kan. to N. W. Territory, west 

 Wash., etc. B.B. 2:281. 



CO. Li'S. pinnately compound. 

 physddes, Dougl. Perennial herb, slen- 

 der, 1-2 ft. high: Ifts. ovate, about 1 in. 

 long: tis. in short, close racemes; calyx % 

 in. long, becoming enlarged and inflated 

 until nearly J^ in. long; corolla K in. long, 

 white or purplish. Mts. of 

 U. S. 



BBB. No. of Ifts. .5. 



escultata, Pursh. Pomme Blanche. Hardy herba- 

 ceous perennial 4-18 in. high : Ifts. 5 and digitate, short- 

 stalked, oval or obovate, entire obtuse, narrowed at base. 

 1-2 in. long: fls. bluish: spikes dense, lK-3 in. long: 

 root large, often clustered, starchy . June. Prairies, 

 Manitoba and Dakota south. B.B. 2:284. 



AA. Plants tender, cult, in S. Calif. 



B. No. of Ifts. S. 



c. Habit herbaceous. 



bitumindsa, Linn. Perennial herb, lJ^-3 ft. high, ap- 



pressed hirsute: Ifts. nearly entire; lower ones ovate, 



obtuse; upper ones much narrower, acute: peduncles 



longer than lvs.; fl. -heads dense, involucrate, becoming 



elongated in fruit: fls. nearly 1 in. long. Spring and 



early summer. Poor soil, Arabia. 



CO. Habit shrubby. 

 glandnldsa, Linn. Petioles scabrous: Ifts. 3, digitate, 

 ovate-lanceolate, acuminate: fls. blue and white, in usu- 

 ally axillary racemes. Chile and Peru. B.M. 990. 

 BB. No of Ifts. 7-11. 

 pinnitta, Linn. Arborescent or shrubby, 6-12 ft., 

 flensely branched and leafy: Ifts. 7-11, pinnate, linear 



PSORALEA 



1461 



or lanceolate-linear, acute, commonly 10-15 lines long 

 by about 1 line wide: fls. axillary, solitary or clustered, 

 sessile or pedicelled, blue with white wings. S. Africa. 

 G.C. III. 5:693. J.H. HI. 33:591. 



The following points concerning the Pomme Blanche 

 (which is also called Prairie Apple, Prairie Turnip and 

 Indian or Missouri Bread -root) are 

 taken from Goodale's "Wild Flowers of 

 America " : " In the autumn the top of the 



.^<7\ 



plant dies and separates from the root, near the ground, 

 and is blown about the prairies. After the top has gone 

 the root cannot be readily found, and hence the Indians 

 dig them in August for their winter use. Thejroot lies 

 deep in the ground and is about the size of a hen's egg. 

 The outside is covered with a thick integument almost 

 as tough as wood and of a dark brown color. The inside 

 is whitish and not unlike a chestnut in appearance and 

 taste, but not so sweet. The Indian women dig the roots 



nip-shaped. If the Indians use them immediately, they 

 generally roast them in ashes. They are also dried and 

 stored for winter, and when wanted they are mashed 

 between stones, mixed with water and baked into cakes 

 over the coals. The root was frequently found in the 

 canoes of the Indians by early travelers before the plant 

 which produced it was known to white men. Nuttall 

 wrote: "The taste is rather insipid, but not disagreeable 

 either raw or boiled. Texture laminated, always tena- 

 cious, solid and never farinaceous." In 1846 the Pomme 

 Blanche was proposed as a substitute for the potato. Its 

 claims to consideration are discussed in " Comptes rendue 

 de I'Academie des Sciences," vols. 26, 29 and 30, and in 

 "Le Potager d'un Curieux." by Pailleux and Bois, with 

 the result that it is believed to offer no possibilities of 

 advance over the potato. p_ ^_ Barclay. 



