PEA FAMILY 485 
unite (Fig. 432). In the uniting of some of the petals, the plants 
of the Pea family suggest those of the Sympetalae which is 
considered the most advanced group of Dicotyledons. Also 
irregularity in the shape or size of sepals or petals is considered 
an advanced feature. The pistil consists of one carpel and be- 
comes the one-celled fruit called legume, which is characteristic 
of the family. 
The Beans, Peas, Peanuts, Soy Beans, Cow-peas, Clovers, 
Alfalfas, and Vetches make this 
family a noted one. The value 
of Beans, Peanuts, and Peas as 
food for man, and of the others 
mentioned for forage and the 
improvement of the soil are well 
known to the student. The Pea- 
nut is peculiar in that it forces 
its pods underground to ripen. 
Although Peanuts are not so 
important for food as Beans and 
Peas, several millions of bushels 
of them are grown in the United 
States per year. From some 
of the leguminous plants medici- ee ene ee ee 
nal substances, dyestuffs, gum i)¢ Gommon Locust (Robinta 
arabic, licorice, logwood, copal  Pseudo-Acacia). At the right, a 
varnish, and other useful sub- raceme of flowers, showing the 
stances are obtained. Some of ‘regular corollas (x2); at the left, 
the leguminous trees, as the above, a flower with a portion of 
corolla removed to show the diadel- 
Black Locust, Honey Locust, ‘phous stamens; at the left, below, 
and a number of trees in the a mature pod or legume (x3). 
tropics and sub-tropics, furnish After Burns and Otis. 
fine cabinet woods. 
Thirty or more leguminous plants are classed as weeds. 
Some, like the Loco-weeds and some of the Lupines, are poison- 
ous to live stock and cause considerable trouble in pastures in 
the Western states. Some, like the Rabbit-foot Clover, are very 
hairy and when eaten by stock, the hairs often collect in balls 
and clog the intestines. In the Tick Trefoils, of which there are 
many species, the fruits are commonly spiny and are trouble- 
some to wool-growers. 
