126 FOUNDATIONS OF BOTANY 



XIV. PSORALEA, L. 



Perennial herbs ; whole plant glandular-dotted. Leaves of 

 3-5 leaflets ; stipules cohering with the petioles. Flowers in 

 axiUary or terminal spikes or racemes. Calyx 5-cleft, the 

 lobes nearly equal. Standard ovate or orbicular, keel 

 incurved, obtuse. Stamens monadelphous or diadelphous, 

 5 of the anthers often undeveloped. Ovary nearly sessile. 

 Pod included in the oalyx, often wrinkled, remaining closed, 

 1-seeded.* 



1. P. melilotoides, nichz. Samson's Snakeroot. Stem erect, 

 slender, branching above, downy, 1-2 ft. high. Leaves of 3 leaflets ; 

 petioles shorter than the leaflets ; stipules awl-shaped ; leaflets 

 elliptical or oblong-lanceolate, sparingly glandular-dotted, the termi- 

 nal one stalked. Loosely flowered spikes axillary and terminal, on 

 peduncles much longer than the leaves. Flowers blue or pui-ple, 

 about ^ in. long. Pod compressed-globose, wrinkled transversely. 

 Dry soil.* 



2. P. tenuiflora, Pursh. Upright, slender, bushy and branching, 

 2-4 ft. high, covered when young with a fine gra3dsh down. Leaves 

 palmately compound, with 3-5 linear to obovate-oblong leaflets, cov- 

 ered with glandular dots. Flowers ^^ in. long, loosely racemed. 

 Pod rough with glands. Prairies, W. 



3. P. esculenta, Pursh. Pomme Blanche, Tipsin, Dakota Tuk- 

 NiP. Clothed ■with roughish hairs. Stem 5-15 in. high, erect and 

 stout. Root turnip-shaped, starchy, eatable. Leaves palmately 

 compound, with 5 lance-oblong leaflets. Flowers J in. long, in a 

 dense ellipsoidal spike. Pod hairy, with a pointed tip. High 

 prairies or plains, especially N. W. 



XV. AMORPHA, L. 



Small shrubs, glandular-dotted. Leaves odd-pinnate. Flowers 

 purple, blue, or white, in slender spikes or racemes. Calyx 

 6-toothed, persistent. Standard obovate, concave, wings and 

 keel none. Stamens monadelphous, projecting much. Ovary 

 sessile. Pod curved, glandular-roughened, 1-2-seeded, never 

 opening.* 



1. A. fruticosa, L. False Indigo. A shrub 6-15 ft. high, with 

 smooth, dark-brown bark. Leaves petioled; leaflets 15-21, short- 

 stalked, oblong, obtuse or notched, sparingly punctate with clear 

 dots. Slender flowering spikes, panicled or solitary, 4-6 in. long. 



