244 PLANTS GROWING IN SANDY SOIL. 



PARTRIDGE PEA. LARGE SENSITIVE PLANT. 



{Plate CXXV.) 

 Cassia ChamcEcrista. 



Flowers: large; growing on slender axillary flower-stalks. Calyx: of five 

 almost separate petals. Corolla : one and a half inches broad ; of five pet- 

 als; four of which are nearly equal and two dotted with purple at the base; the 

 fifth one being larger. Stamens : iQW., anthers, irregular, of which some are 

 laden with a yellow, others with a purple, pollen. Pistil: one. Pod: flat. 

 Leaves: pinnate; divided into ten to twenty pairs of small, linear, sensitive 

 leaflets which close when roughly handled, the lowest pair possessing a club- 

 shaped gland at the base. 



When looking at the illustration it would appear as though 

 the wild senna and the partridge pea had, to amuse themselves, 

 played at exchanging their leaves, for the eye naturally associ- 

 ates the larger leaves with the larger flowers. Just the reverse, 

 however, is true, and the strength that has been reserved in the 

 small leaves of the partridge pea, bursts forth in the large 

 bright flowers which enliven many a sandy bank in late summer. 

 It is especially in the south that its bloom is most perfect. The 

 sensitiveness of these plants to the touch is a curious feature. 



BEACH PEA. {Plate CXXVI) 

 Ldthyrus 7naritimus. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Pulse. Violet purple. Scentless. A long the coast. Summer and early autumn. 



Flowers : clustered on slender axillary peduncles. Calyx : of five unequal 

 sepals. Corolla: showy; papilionaceous. Stamens: ten; united. Pistil: 

 one. Pod: long; narrow. Leaves: divided into three to five pairs of oval, 

 smooth leaflets ; the common petiole ending in a tendril. Stem : stout; leafy. 



Wending our way through the sand dunes that guard the 

 approach to the seashore we pass the beach pea growing in 

 low clumps. There is a healthy look about its soft green 

 spotless leaves, and the varying tones of its purple flowers har- 

 monise well with the white sand. We cannot help but fancy 

 that it feels a subtle joy in its powers as it stretches out its 

 firm tendrils to raise itself upward. 



