320 ORDER 46. LEGUMINOS^E. 



with a broadly expanded banner. In medicine the leaves are used instead of 

 senna. Jn. Aug. f 



44. WISTA'RIA, Nntt. (In memory of Caspafr Wistar, M.D., 

 President of Am. Phil. Soc.) Calyx bilabiate, upper lip emarginate, 

 the lower one 3 subequal teeth ; vexillum with 2 callosities ascending 

 the claw and separating above ; \vings and keel falcate, the former ad- 

 hering at top; legume torulous; seeds many, reniform. Twining, 

 shrubby plants, with pinnate Ivs. Rac. large, with large, colored bracts. 

 Fls. lilac-colored. 



1 W. fmtescens DC. Sts. pubescent when young, at length glabrous ; Ifts. 9 to 

 13, ovate or elliptic-lanceolate, acute, subpubescent ; wings with 2 auricles at 

 base ; ova, glabrous. An ornamental, vigorous vine, in rich alluvion, S. & W. 

 States. Sts. sevefal yards long, climbing over bushes, etc. Lfts. 1 to 2' by \ to 

 1'. Us. nearly as largo as those of the sweet pea, numerous, in rac. 3 to 6 or 8' 

 long, sheathed in very conspicuous bracts. Sds. spotted. Apr., May. f (Glycine 

 frutescens L. Thyosanthus Ell.) 



2 W. consequana Benth. Lfts. 9 to 13, ovate-lanceolate, silky- pubescent ; 

 rac. terminal, nodding, loosely many-flowered. A splendid flowering vine from 

 China. St. of rapid growth, 12f or more in length. Fls. in long, pendulous 

 clusters. May, Jn. f 



45. ATIOS, L. GROUND NUT. ('Amo^, the pear ; from the form of 

 its tubers.) Calyx campanulate, obscurely bilabiate, the upper lip of 2 

 very short, rounded teeth, the 2 lateral teeth nearly obsolete, the lower 

 one acute and elongated ; keel falcate, pushing back the broad, plicate 

 vexillum at top ; ovary sheathed at base. H Twining, smooth. Root 

 bearing edible tubers. Lvs. pinnately 5 to 7 -foliate. 



A. tuberosa Ph. St. twining; Ivs. pinnate, of 7 ovate-lanceolate Ifts.; rac. 

 shorter than the Ivs. Thickets and shady woods, Can. and U. S., twining about. 

 other plants. St round, 2 to 4f in length. Lvs. rather numerous, each consist- 

 ing of 3 (rarely 2) pairs of leaflets and an odd terminal one. These are ovate. 

 narrow, more or less pointed, smooth, on short pedicels. ' Eac. axillary, solitary. 

 1 to 3' long, crowded. Fls. dark purple. To the root are appended oval, fleshy 

 tubers, which are very nutritious, and would perhaps be cultivated had we not 

 the potato. JL, Aug. (Grlycino Apios L.) 



46. VIG'NA, Savi. (In memory of Dominic Vigna, Commentator 

 on Theophrastus.) Calyx of 4 lobes, the upper twice broader, the 

 lower longer ; vexillum broad with 2 callosities near the base of th.' 

 limb ; keel not twisted ; stigma lateral ; legume terete ; seeds not com- 

 pressed. Twining herbs. Lvs. pinnately trifoliate. 



V. hirsuta Feay. Plant hirsute, the stem retrorsely so ; cal. with 1 bractlet at 

 base, segm. all acute, the lower acuminate ; Ifts. ovate-lanceolate, pointed. llice 

 field dams, Savannah (Feay), swamps, N. Orleans (Hale). Sts. scrambling over 

 bushes, many feet long, slender. Lfts. 2 to 3' by to 1', with scattered, ap- 

 pressed hairs both sides, and minute stipels. Ped. 8 to 12' long. 3 to 5-flowered 

 at the top. Fls. pale yellow, the banner 6" long and 9" broad. Pods 2' long, 

 with 4 to 6 large, black, polyhedral seeds. Oct., Nov. (V. glabra Savi ? Doli- 

 chos luteolus Ell.) 



47. RHYNCHCTSIA, DC. (Gr. pvy%o?, a beak ; in reference to the 

 projecting keel.) Calyx somewhat bilabiate, or 4-parted, with the up- 

 per segm. 2 cleft ; vexillum without callosities ; keel falcate ; style 

 glabrous ; legume oblique, short, compressed, 1 to 2-seeded ; seeds 

 carunculate. 2{ Erect, or twining. Lvs, resinous-dotted beneath, pin- 

 nately 3-foliate, sometimes reduced to a single leaflet. Fls. yellow. 



