Genus i6. 



PEA FAMILY, 



361 



I. Psoralea lanceolata Pursh. Lance-leaved 

 Psoralea. Tum'ble-weed. Fig. 2491. 



Psoralea lanceolata Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 475. 1814. 



P. micrantha A. Gray; Torr. Pac. R. R. Rep. 4: 77. 1856. 



Erect, or assurgent, nearly glabrous, much branched, 

 densely dark-glandular, light green, i°-2° high. Root not 

 tuberous; petioles equalling or shorter than the leaves; 

 stipules linear, 3"-4" long, early deciduous ; leaflets 3, digi- 

 tate, sessile, sometimes with a few scattered hairs, linear 

 to oblanceolate, entire, varying from acute to obtuse or 

 even emarginate at the apex, narrowed or cuneate at the 

 base, 8"-i5" long, 2"-4" wide; peduncles slender; spikes 

 dense, short, 4"-6" thick, 6-io-flowered ; bracts mem- 

 branous, caducous; flowers bluish-white, 3" long; corolla 

 2-3 times as long as the calyx ; pod subglobose, about 2" 

 long, sparingly pubescent, or glabrous, punctate; seed glo- 

 bose, brown. 



In dry soil, Iowa to North Dakota, Saskatchewan, Kansas, 

 Arizona and British Columbia. June-July. 



2. Psoralea tenuiflora Pursh. Few-flowered 

 Psoralea. Fig. 2492. 



Psoralea tenuiflora Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 475. 1814. 



Erect, finely appressed-canescent, especially when 

 young, punctate, much branched, slender, 2°-4° high. 

 Root not tuberous ; leaves short-petioled, digitately 

 3-S-f oliolate ; stipules subulate, i"-2" long; leaflets 

 very short-stalked, entire, oval, oblong or elliptic, 

 6"-io" long, iJ"-3" wide, obtuse and mucronulate 

 at the apex, narrowed or cuneate at the base ; pedun- 

 cles slender, longer than the leaves; racemes loosely 

 6-14-flowered, i'-3' long; bracts scale-like, persist- 

 ent; flowers purplish, 2" long; corolla about twice 

 the lenc;th of the calyx ; pod ovate, glabrous, punc- 

 tate, 2' -3" long; seed ovoid, brown. 



Prairies, Illinois to South Dakota, Texas and Sonora, 

 west to Colorado and Montana. Scurvy-pea. May-Oct. 



Psoralea obtusiloba T. & G., doubtfully recorded 

 from Kansas in our first edition, is not definitely known 

 within our area. 



3. Psoralea floribunda Nutt. Many-flowered Psoralea. Fig. 2493. 



P. floribunda Nutt. ; T. & G. Fl. N. A. i : 300. 1838. 

 P. tenuiflora floribunda Rydb. Fl. Neb. 21; 55. 1895. 



Stem i°-4° high, profusely branching, canescent, 

 not glandular. Petioles 2j"-i5" long, mostly shorter 

 than the leaflets ; stipules i4"-34" long, subulate, 

 sometimes reflexed ; leaves 3-5- sometimes 7-f olio- 

 late ; leaflets s"-i8" long, il"-4" wide, oblong, glan- 

 dular on both surfaces, rugose, glabrous or with a 

 few scattered hairs above, canescent with closely 

 appressed white hairs beneath ; peduncles 2'-7' long ; 

 spikes oblong or cjdindric, usually many-flowered, 

 the flowers about 4" long, at length interrupted and 

 appearing almost as if whorled ; bracts i"-i!;" long, 

 lanceolate, hirsute ; calyx canescent, the lobes trian- 

 gular, acute, the lower one the longest ; pod ovoid, 

 glabrous, light brown, covered with darker glands, 

 beak short, stout, straight ; seed 24" long, com- 

 pressed. 



Prairies. Illinois to Montana, Texas, Arizona and 

 Mexico. Perhaps a large-flowered race of the preceding 

 species. May-Oct. Scurvy-pea. 



