PULSE FAMILY. Leguminosx. 



family Hymenoptera, the bees ; the honeybee is one of 



the commonest visitors. 



„ . „ A seaside plant, but one common also on 



Dcsch Pcfl 



Lathyms *^^® shores of the Great Lakes ; its con- 



maritimus struction and habit similar to those of 



Ruddy purple Vicia. There are 6-12 oval leaflets, bris- 

 May-August tie-tipped, and a ruddy purple flower-clus- 

 ter of 5-12 bean-blossom-shaped florets ; the cluster is 

 somewhat long-hemispherical in outline. At the base 

 of the compound leaves are a pair of conspicuous arrow^- 

 head-shaped stipules, or leaflets. The pod is veiny and 

 about 2 inches long. The stout stem is angled and 1-2 

 feet high. Sandy soil Me., south to N. J., and west to 

 Oregon. 



This is a slender marsh-loving plant with 

 If- an angled and winged stem, narrow lance- 



shaped stipules (leafy formations at the 

 base of the compound leaves), and with 2-4 pairs of 

 lance-shaped leaflets. The loose and ruddy purple spare 

 flower-cluster (of 2-6 flowers about ^ inch long) is as long 

 as the compound leaf. The narrow, veiny pod is about 

 2 inches long. Stem 1-3 feet long. In wet situations, 

 from Me., Mass., N. J., and N. Y., west to the Pacific 

 coast. 



^ , A climbing vine reaching a height of 



around Nut , ^ . % * ^ rp, ^ • t i 



Apios tuberosa ^bout four or five feet. The root is tuber- 

 Maroon and ous and edible. The compound leaf is 

 pale brown= composed of 3-7 toothless, ovate-pointed 

 '''^*^ leaflets, smooth and light green. The ses- 



September thetic flower-cluster is maroon and pale 

 brown-lilac in color with a texture of 

 velvet ; the bean-blossomlike florets are cloyingly sweet, 

 and suggest English violets with a slight and strange 

 horse-chestnut odor. They are fertilized mostly by the 

 various bees, including the honeybee. The name is 

 from ocTtiov, a pear, alluding to the pear-shape of the 

 tubers. The plant is exceedingly beautiful and worthy 

 of cultivation. On low, damp ground, from Me., south, 

 and west to S. Dak. , Neb. , and Kan. Found in CamptoD, 

 N. H. 



224 



