176 amp:rican midland naturalist 



presence of cleistogamous flowers has apparently become rec- 

 ognized as a character sufficient to merit generic standing. 

 Besides this the plants of which Lespedeza hirta (Linn.) Hornem. 

 may be selected as typical, have in common other important 

 characters. Their flowers unlike those of Lespedeza proper, are 

 whitish or yellowish, and usually characteristically aggregated 

 in only terminal or subterminal spike-like racemes, and the calyx 

 segments exceed or include the fruit, whereas the typical plants 

 beside having cleistogamous axillary and loosely aggregated 

 purplish flowers, have their fruit longer than the calyx segments. 

 We may designate the group devoid of cleistogamous flowers 

 as a new genus Despeleza. 



Crocanthemum Spach, in the Cistaceae recognized of late 

 as a good genus can be said to have scarcely much else but the 

 presence of cleistogamous flowers to validate its generic standing 

 as separate from Helianthcmtim and especially from Halimium. 



DespELKza nov. gen. 



Lespedeza Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. II. p. 71, (1803), segregate. 



Plantae perennes, stricte erectae, plus minusve e basi ra- 

 mosae, plerumque etiam infime suff"ruticosae, floribus, albis, 

 albescentibus vel flavescentibus, calice fructum superante, floribus 

 cleistogamis omnino absentibus (i. e. tantum petaliferis perfectos 

 habentibus) ; floribus in inflorescentia terminali spicato-racemosa 

 aggregatis. 



Plants perennial, strictly erect, often more or less branched 

 from the base, somewhat suffruticose below. Flowers whitish 

 or vellowish; calyx segments surpassing the fruit: cleistogamous 

 flowers absent, inflorescence spicate-racemose terminal or sub- 

 terminal. 



Despeleza hirta (Linn.) Nwd. 



Lespedeza hirta (Linn.) Hornem. Hort. Harn. p. 699, (1807). 



Hedysanmi hirtum Linn., vSp. PI. p. 748, (1753). Type. 



Despeleza capitata (Michx.) Nwd. 



Lespedeza capitata Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. II., p. 71, (1803). 



Despeleza angustifola (Pursh) Nwd. 



Lespedeza angnstijolia (Pursh) Kll. Bot. vS. C. and Ga. II., 

 p. 206, (1824). 



Lespedeza capitata var. angustifolia Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 

 p. 480, (18 14). 



