PEA FAMILY 



escaped from the gardens and is found on dry hills from Maine 

 to New York, where it becomes a troublesome weed. 



Leaves. Alternate, one-foliate, sessile, elliptical or lanceolate, 

 one half to one and one-half inches long, narrowed at base, en- 

 tire, acute at apex, bright shining green ; midvein depressed 

 above, primary veins obscure. 



Flowers. Summer. Papilionaceous, one-half -to five-eighths 

 of an inch long, borne in many short, few-flowered, terminal 

 racemes. Calyx, two-lipped. Corolla clear bright yellow, with- 

 out markings. 



Fruit. Pod, an inch long, flat, glabrous. 



In Garden and Forest of August, 1 888, is given the 

 following account of Genista tinctoria. " In some parts 

 of Essex County, Massachusetts, it has become thor- 

 oughly naturalized, and has taken possession of thou- 

 sands of acres of rocky upland, from which it is prac- 

 tically impossible to exterminate it, and which is thus 

 ruined for pasturage or for tillage. These hills where 

 the Woad Waxen is in flower, seem to be covered with 

 a golden carpet and present an appearance quite un- 

 like anything which can be seen in any other part 

 of the United States. There is a tradition that the 

 Woad Waxen was introduced into the United States 

 by Governor John Endicott of Salem, one of the pio- 

 neers of American horticulture." 



The leaf of this plant is a sort of botanical puzzle ; 

 it is called a compound leaf of a single leaflet, which 

 seems a contradiction in terms. But if you look at 

 the petiole under a glass, it is very clear that there is 

 a joint, and this indicates that the leaf is indeed com- 

 pound, but that all the leaflets have aborted save one. 



In England the Woad Waxen used to be collected 

 by the poor country people and sold to the dyers. 



