PULSE FAMILY 139 



1. V. sativa L. COMMON VETCH. Annual. Stem simple, smooth, 

 reclining, 1-3 ft. long. Leaves short-petioled; leaflets 2-5 pairs, 

 obovate-oblong to linear, obtuse, notched and mucronate at the 

 apex. Flowers in pairs, nearly sessile in the axils, pale purple, f in. 

 or less in length. Pod linear, several-seeded. . In gravelly soil. Intro- 

 duced from Europe. 



2. V. caroliniana Walt. Perennial. Smooth or nearly so, 4-6 ft. 

 high. Leaflets 8-24, narrowly oblong, blunt. Peduncles loosely flow- 

 ered. Flowers small, whitish or tipped with pale purple. River banks. 



3. V. americana Muni. WILD VETCH, BUFFALO PEA. Perennial. 

 Smooth, 1-3 ft. high. Leaflets 10-14, elliptical or ovate-oblong, 

 obtuse. Peduncles shorter than the leaves, 4-8-flowered. Flowers 

 bluish-purple, | in. long. Common N. and W. 



XXII. LATHYRUS L. 



Like Vicia, excepting that the leaflets are fewer and the 

 style is bearded on the side toward the standard. 



1. L. maritimus Bigelow. BEACH PEA. Perennial. Stem stout, 

 1-2 ft. high. Stipules broadly ovate and heart- or halberd-shaped, 

 nearly as large as the 6-12 leaflets, of which the lower pair is the 

 largest; tendrils pretty large. Flowers large, blue or purple. Sea- 

 shores and beaches of the Great Lakes. 



2. L. palustris L. WILD PEA. Stem frequently winged, slender, 

 and climbing by delicate tendrils at the ends of the leaves. Stipules 

 narrow and pointed; leaflets 4-8, narrowly oblong to linear, acute. 

 Peduncles bearing 2-6 pretty large, drooping, blue, purple, and white 

 flowers. Damp thickets and borders of swamps. 



3. L. venosus Muhl. VEINY VETCH. Perennial. Stem stout, 

 prominently angled, climbing or reclining, 2-5 ft. long. Leaves 

 short-petioled ; stipules large, lanceolate ; leaflets 5-7 pairs, broadly 

 ovate-obtuse, mucronate. Peduncles nearly as long as the leaves, 

 many-flowered. Flowers purple, f in. long. Calyx teeth very unequal. 

 Pod linear, veined, 4-6-seeded. Shady banks and moist prairies.* 



4. L. odoratus L. SWEET PEA^ Annual. Stem roughish-hairy, 

 it and the petioles winged. Leaflets only one pair, oval or oblong. 

 Flowers large, 2 or 3 on the long peduncles, sweet-scented, white, 

 rose color, purple, or variegated. Cultivated from Europe. 



XXIII. PISUM L. 



Climbing or prostrate herbs. Style enlarged above, grooved 

 on the back, with soft-hairy down on the inner edge. Leaflets 

 1-3 pairs. Flowers and fruit much like those of Laihyrus. 



