PULSE FAMILY. 



LEGUMINOS^. 

 Wild Lupine. Lupinus perennis. 



Old-Maids' Bonnets. 

 Wild Pea. 



Fouud in barren sandy fields, in June. 



The tough, woody-fibred, round stalk is about 1 or 2 feet high, 

 erect and leafy, with a rough, hairy surface. The color is light green, 

 with a considerable showing of red. 



The leaf is divided into 5 to 15 long narrow leaflets which radiate 

 from a common center (" palmate "), each showing a strong midrib, 

 with an entire margin ; the texture is thin, and fine, and pleasing to 

 the touch ; the color is a soft green, paler underneath, showing a hint 

 of red at the edge, the tip, and again at the stem. The leaves are set 

 on stems, and arranged in little groups alternately. 



The flower has 5 petals : the upper is broad, erect, and much folded 

 back; the side petals are closed about the lower petal, which is not 

 observable until the blossom is ready to fall, when it pushes itself, and 

 the stamens, forward. The upright petal is a deep beautiful red- 

 purple or dark violet, the side petals are violet, lined with blue, the 

 lower petal is tipped with purple ; the calyx is 2-parted and green. 

 The flowei's, set on short red-purple stems, are arranged loosely in a 

 long terminal spike. The blossom is odorous. 



In bud scarcely a trace of the purple tint shows, petals and calyx 



being pink and greenish-white, — even when the upright petal first turns 



back, only a few dainty flecks of dark color may be discerned ; with 



maturity the purple and blue increase in depth. The blossoms at the 



base of the spike begin to open earliest. Not the least of the Lupine's 



attractions is the graceful curve of the stalk, — rarely is the flower-spike 



stiffly erect. It is a communistic plant, spreading all over a sand plain 



and making it a field of blue in blossom time, the roots buried firmly 



and to a surprising depth in the loose soil. 



ii6 



