PULSE FAMILY. 103 



■*- •>- Stems erect, 2° - 6° high : stipules and bracts mostly awl-shaped, small and 

 inconspicuous or early deciduous ; racemes panicled. 



♦* Common petiole slender : flowers smallish : joints of pod 3-5, unequal-sided. 



D. viridiflbrum. Stem and lower surface of the broad ovate blnnt leaf- 

 lets clothed with white and soft-velvety down. Pine-barrens, from New Jersey S. 



D. ISBvig&tum. Stem and the tliickish ovate and blnntish leaflets smooth 

 or nearly so. From New Jersey S. 



D. Dill^nii. Stem and the oblong or oblong-ovate blnntish tliin leaflets 

 finely pubescent ; the latter 2' - 3' long. 



D. panlculktum. Smooth or nearly so throughout ; leaflets lanceolate 

 or lance-oblong, tapering to a blunt point, 3' - 5' long ; panicle loose. 



D. StrictniU. Slender stems smooth below, above and the narrow panicle 

 rough-glandular; leaflets linear, blunt, reticulated, very sniooth, 1' ^,2' long. 

 From New Jersey S. 



++ ++ Common petiole very short, 



D. Canad^nse. Stem hairy, 3° - 6° high, leafy up to the panicle ; leaf- 

 lets lance-oblong, blunt, 2' - 3' long ; racemes dense, the pink-purple flowers 

 larger than in any other, fully J' long ; bracts large, conspicuous before flower- 

 ing. Chiefly N. & W. 



13. Sessilifdlium. Stem pubescent, 2° -4'' high ; the long panicle naked; 

 common petiole hardly any ; leaflets linear or linear-oblong, blunt, reticulated, 

 rough above, downy beneath ; flowers small. Penn. to 111. & S. 



■*-■*-■>- Stems ascending or spreading, l°-3° long: stipules and bracts awl- 

 shaped and deciduous : panicle naked, loose : flqwers small : pod of 2 or 3 

 small oval or roundish joints. 

 D. rigidum. The largest of this section, with rough-pubescent stems 

 sometimes erect ; leaflets ovate-oblong, blunt, thickish, roughish and reticulated, 

 1' - 2 J' long, longer than the common petiole. ., . ., 



D. ciiiare. More or less hairy, slender, very leafy ; common petiole very 

 short ; leaflets round-ovate or oval, thickish, j' - 1' long, 



D. Maril^ndicum. Smooth or nearly so, slender ; leaflets ovate or 

 roundish, thin, the lateral ones about the length of the slender petiole : other- 

 wise like the preceding. 



^- ^- *~ ^- Stems reclining or prostrate ; racemes axillary and terminal. 



D. line^tum. Smoothish ; stem striate-angled ; stipules awl-shaped, 

 deciduous ; leaflets orbicular, 1' or less in length, much longer than the common 

 petiole ; flowers and 2 or 3 rounded joints of the pod small. Pine-barrens from 

 Maryland S. 



D. rotundifblium. Soft-hairy ; stems running 3° - 5° along the ground ; 

 leaflets orbicular, about 3' long ; stipules ovate, striate, taper-pointed, persist- 

 ent ; flowers and the 3-5 rhombic-oval joints of the pod rather large. 



§ 2. Exotic, conservatory species. 



D. g^ans, of East Indies, one of the most extraordinary plants known. 

 Is readily grown as a tender annual : the smooth leaves are remarkable for their 

 movements ; the end leaflet slowly changing position with the light ; the lateral 

 ones, very much smaller, moving pretty rapidly up and down, in elliptical 

 sweeps, through the day when the temperature is about 80° Fahr. 



18. .HSCHYirdMENE, SENSITIVE JOINT -VETCH. (From 

 Greek word meaning ashamed, the leaflets of some species being more <"■ '^s' 

 sensitive to the touch in the manner of the common Sensitive Plarit. ) Sta- 

 mens commonly in two sets of 5 each. Pod resembling that of Desmodium. 

 El. summer. 

 .3!. hispida. Stem rough-bristly, 2° -4° high; leaflets very many, broadly 



linear ; joints of the bristly pod 6 - 10, nearly square. Low grounds from 



Penn. S. ® 

 JE. yiscldula. Stems clammy-pnbescetlt, slender, spreading on the ground ; 



leaflets 7-9, obovate; joints of the bristly pod 2 or 3, half-orbicular. Sandy 



shores S. ® 



