PULSE FAMILY 129 



(a) Leaflets usually many pairs. Style slender, bearded only 



at the tip or all round the upper portion. Pod 2- 

 several-seeded. Vieia, XXI 



(b) Leaflets few or several pairs. Style bearded along one 



face only. Pod several-seeded. Lathyrus, XXII 



(c) Leaflets 1-3 pairs. St}-le enlarged above, grooved on 



the back. Pod several-seeded ; seeds large, globular or 

 nearly so. Pisum, XXIII 



I. DESMANTHUS Willd. (ACUAN) 



Shrubs or perennial herbs. Stems erect or diffuse, smooth. 

 Leaves abruptly twice-pinnate; stipules small. Flowers m 

 heads or spikes, on axillary peduncles, the upper bisexual, the 

 lower often stamin ate or neutral. Calyx 6-toothed. Corolla of 

 6 distinct petals or 5-cleft. Stamens 6-10, distinct. Ovary 

 nearly sessile, fiat, several-seeded.* 



1. D. illinoensis ^lac "SI. Desjiaxthcs. Stem erect or ascend- 

 ing, smooth, 1— i ft. high. Pinnae 6-14 pairs, each with a minute 

 gland at the base ; leaflets 20-30 pairs, small, linear. Heads globose. 

 Stamens o. Pods several, on a peduncle 2-3 in. long, curved, flat, 

 2-valved, 3-6-seeded. Open, sandy fields.* 



n. SCHRANKIA Willd. (MORONGIA) 



Perennial herbs. Stems reclining or prostrate, prickly, 2-5 

 ft. long. Leaves twice-pinnate ; stipules bristly. Flowers bi- 

 sexual or somewhat monoecious, in axillary peduncled heads. 

 Calyx minute. Corolla tubular, 6-cleft. Stamens 8-10, dis- 

 tinct. Pod long, prickl}-, 1-celled.* 



1. S. uncinata AVilkl. Sexsitive Brier, Sexsitive Rose, Sm:\rE 

 Vine. Plant covered ■^\ith hoolved prickles. Leaflets elliptical, with 

 a conspicuous network of veins beneath ; leaves closing gradually 

 after being touched. Flowers rose-colored. Pods nearly cylindrical, 

 2 in. long. Dry, sandy soil and rolling prairies, especially S. and W. 



m. GYMNOCLADUS Lam. 



A large, thornless tree, its twigs few and stout. Leaves very 

 large, twice pinnately compound, without stipules. Flowers 

 actinomorphic, whitish, dioecious or somewhat monoecious, in 



