0467 



PITCH TREFOIL 



Family: LEGUMINOSAE. 



Reproductive system: DlADELPHY DECANDRY. 



The pitch trefoil, Psoralen bitaminosa, Linn., is a bush of our southern provinces 

 that grows about one meter high. The stem is straight, cylindrical, grooved and branchy. 

 The leaves are on long petioles. They consist of three lanceolate leaflets that are very 

 entire and slightly downy underneath. They're colored a deep blue. The peduncles as well 

 as the petioles have entire, pointed bracts at their base. The calyx has five sections; it's 

 persistent and hairy. The papilionaceous corolla has five distinct free petals. The ten 

 stamens are joined together. The fruit is an oval monospermous pod concealed inside the 

 calyx. It's compressed, has black bristles, and terminates in a protruding beak. 



FLOWERS: almost all summer long. 



RANGE: southern France. 



NOMENCLATURE: commonly, bituminous trefoil, Jesuit's tea 



The glandular psoralea, Psoralea glandulosa, Linn., is a bush that originated in 

 Peru and has been cultivated for a long time in almost all collections. The leaves are on 

 quite long petioles that are rough to the touch. They're made up of three lanceolate, entire, 

 pointed leaflets. The blue flowers are in spikes set on long peduncles that originate at the 

 leaf axils and have pointed stipules. The calyx has five teeth, one of which is larger than 

 the others. The corolla is papilionaceous. The fruit is a monospermous pod surrounded by 

 the persistent calyx. 



FLOWERS: from May until August. 



RANGE: Peru, naturalized in gardens in the south of France. 



USES. These two bushes are cultivated in major collections; 



