PULSE FAMILY 139 
1. V. sativa L. Common Vetcu. Annual. Stem simple, smooth, 
reclining, 1-3 ft. long. Leaves short-petioled; leaflets 2-5 pairs, 
obovate-oblong to linear, obtuse, notched and mucronate at the 
apex. Flowers in pairs, nearly sessile in the axils, pale purple, 3 in. 
orlJess in length. Pod linear, several-seeded. In gravelly soil. Intro- 
duced from Europe. 
2. V. caroliniana Walt. Perennial. Smooth or nearly so, 4-6 ft. 
high. Leaflets 8-24, narrowly oblong, blunt. Peduncles loosely flow- 
ered. Flowers small, whitish or tipped with pale purple. River banks. 
3. V. americana Muhl. Witp Vercu, BcrraLo Pra. Perennial. 
Smooth, 1-3 ft. high. Leaflets 10-14, elliptical or ovate-oblong, 
obtuse. Peduncles shorter than the leaves, 4—-8-flowered. Flowers 
bluish-purple, $ in. long. Common N. and W, 
XXII. LATHYRUS L. 
Like Vicia, excepting that the leaflets are fewer and the 
style is bearded on the side toward the standard. 
1. L. maritimus Bigelow. BEacn PEA. Perennial. Stem stout, 
1-2 ft. high. Stipules broadly ovate aud heart- or halberd-shaped, 
nearly as large as the 6-12 leaflets, of which the lower pair is the 
largest; tendrils pretty large. Flowers large, blue or purple. Sea- 
shores and beaches of the Great Lakes. 
2. L. palustris L. Witp Pea. Stem frequently winged, slender, 
and climbing by delicate tendrils at the ends of the leaves. Stipules 
narrow and pointed; leaflets 4-8, narrowly oblong to linear, acute. 
Peduncles bearing 2-6 pretty large, drooping, blue, purple, and white 
flowers. Damp thickets and borders of swamps. 
3. L. venosus Muhl. Verny Vetca. Perennial. Stem stout, 
prominently angled, climbing or reclining, 2-5 ft. long. Leaves 
short-petioled; stipules large, lanceolate; leaflets 5-7 pairs, broadly 
ovate-obtuse, mucronate. Peduncles nearly as long as the leaves, 
many-flowered. Flowers purple, 3 in. long. Calyx teeth very unequal. 
Pod linear, veined, 4-6-seeded. Shady banks and moist prairies.* 
4. L. odoratus L. Sweet Pea. Annual. Stem roughish-hairy, 
it and the petioles winged. Leaflets only one pair, oval or oblong. 
Flowers large, 2 or 3 on the long peduncles, sweet-scented, white, 
rose color, purple, or variegated. Cultivated from Europe. 
XXII. PISUM L. 
Climbing or prostrate herbs. Style enlarged above, grooved 
on the back, with soft-hairy down on the inner edge. Leaflets 
1-3 pairs. Flowers and fruit much like those of Lathyrus. 
