CHAPTER II 

 SYSTEMATIC BOTANY OF PEAS, AND THEIR ALLIES 



The leguminous plants, constituting that large and 

 varied assemblage known botanically as the family 

 Papilionaceae, are of prime importance economically 

 as sources of lumber, dyes, forage and food. 



The particular group of legumes considered in 

 Part I, the peas and related plants whose seeds, pods, 

 or both are at present of more or less importance as food 

 in the United States, belong almost entirely in a single 

 tribe of this family, the N i<ia<-. 



Aside from the peanut, irachis hypogaea L., the 

 food plants of the other tribes except the Phaseoleae. 

 the beans and their allies (which will be discussed in a 

 following part*, are unimportant and merit but short 

 notice. 



Loin- tetragonolobus L. (Tribe: Loteae). The 

 " asparagus pea " is occasionally cultivated in central 

 Europe and in the Orient. The seeds and pods are eaten 

 green, or the seeds alone are occasionally used dried or 

 roasted. The immature pods of L. edulis L. are some- 

 times used like string beans by the peasants of Crete. 



Scorpiuras vermiculata L. (Tribe: Hedysareae). 

 The caterpillar or wormlike pods of this plant are said 

 to be used " in soups as a practical joke, not for their 

 edible qualities." The fruits of S. suhvillosu L., S. 

 sulcata L. and other species are used in the same way. 



taenia L. Sp. PI. 741. 1753. (Tribe: Hedy- 

 sareae 



Herbs: leaves pinnate with two pairs of leaflets or trifoliolate, 

 stipules adnate to the petiole: inflorescences axillary: flowers sessile 

 or short-stalked with two narrow bracts below the calyx: calyx 

 tube long filiform simulating a pedicel, dilated above and campanu- 

 late at the insertion of the petals and stamens, teeth 5. the upper 4 

 united, the lower free: standard orbicular, wings oblong, keel 

 recurved: stamens 9 or 10, all united; ovary at the base of the calyx 

 tube, ovules 2-3, styles filiform. 



There are 9 species, natives of tropical South 

 America; the following is now cultivated in all the 

 warmer countries. 



\. hypogaea L. Sp. PI. 741. 1753. 



Peanut, goober, pindar; Erdnuss (Germ. ); arachide, 

 pistache de terre French i ; pistacchio di terra Ital.). 



Annual, about 1 foot high, branched from the bottom; leaves 

 paripinnate, with two pairs of obovate entire leaflets; fruit — through 

 the rapid lengthening of the pedicel, which is very short at first — 

 deeply buried and ripening in the soil: seeds ovate, 1-3. 



This has become a very important plant. The 

 " nuts " are eaten and sold almost everywhere. An 

 excellent oil is extracted from them which competes 

 successfully with olive oil, as it keeps better and does 

 not darken as readily. 



Peanuts are widely cultivated in Asia, especially 

 in China. For some time it was even doubted whether 

 the plant was really a native of America, but it was 

 evidently in cultivation by the Indians before the 

 discovery of America, the nuts having been found in 

 the mummy graves of Peru. 



Tribe: VICEEAE Bronn Diss. Legum. 133. 1822. 



The tribe Vicieae, to which the peas and their allies 

 belong, are (excepting the shrubby species of Abrus) 

 annual or perennial herbs, erect or vinelike and bearing 

 tendrils or short bristles i setae ) at the end of the pin- 

 nately compound leaves. The flowers are all somewhat 

 similar to those of peas and 9 of the 10 stamens are 

 united in a tube, the 10th being free or nearly so. 



The following key includes those genera of impor- 

 tance as food plants. 



KEY TO GENERA OF VICIEAE. 

 A. Style glabrous; keel and wings free; staminal tube twice 

 as long as the ovary; pod inflated, containing 2 seeds; fila- 

 ments dilated above; leaves odd pinnate 1. Cicer (p. 10) 



AA. Style hairy: pod not inflated; leaves paripinnate. 

 B. Staminal tube obliquely truncate. 

 C. Calyx with 5 teeth; style filiform, hairy above; pod with 

 two to several seeds; wings coherent with the keel. 



2. Vicia ip. 11 

 CC. Calyx 5-parted; style flat, a line of hairs on the inner side; 



pod rhomboid, with 1-2 seeds 3. Lens (p. 12) 



BB. Staminal tube horizontally truncate. 



C. Style dilated or flattened, hairy along the inner side; wings 



nearly free 4. Lathyrus (p. 12) 



CC. Style canaliculate and bearded along the inner side. 



5. Pisum (p. 13) 



I. CICER [Tourn.l L. Sp. PI. 738. 1753. 



Plants herbaceous or suffrutescent, frequently glandular 

 hairy; leaves either ending in a bristle or tendril or odd pinnate, 

 leaflets mostly dentate; stipules oblique, dentate: peduncles axillary: 

 flowers single or a few in a raceme, bracts small; calyx with 5 sub- 

 equal teeth; standard ovate or orbicular, narrowed into a short 

 broad claw; wings obliquely obovate, keel curved, obtuse or some- 

 what pointed; ovary sessile, ovules 2 or more; pod ovate or oblong; 

 the seeds globular or angular. 



This genus comprises about 14 species, all natives 

 of western Asia and southern Europe, of which only 

 the following is of importance as a food plant. 

 Cicer arietinum L. Sp. PI. 738. 1753. 



Chick pea; Kichererbse (Germ.); pois-chiche, pois 

 tete de belier, pois cornu, pois becu, garvance (French); 

 cece (Ital. >; cicer (Rum.); garbanzo (Span.). 



Annual herb, 20-40 cm high, erect or ascending, branching 

 from the base or in the upper part, glandular hairy throughout; 

 leaves short stalked; leaflets mostly in 6-8 pairs — usually not oppo- 

 site, oval to oblong, sharply serrate toward the tip, 8-15 mm long; 

 stipules semi -sagittate, with 2-5 deltoid teeth; peduncles much 

 shorter than the leaf, 1 -flowered, articulate in the middle and with 

 a subulate bract: flowers about 1 cm long, purplish or pale violet 

 or white; calyx with narrow lanceolate acuminate teeth exceeding 

 the tube; standard with darker veins; pods on decurved pedicels, 

 oblong-ovate, gibbous, ending in a curbed beak, viscid-glandular, 

 15-20 mm long; seeds obovate or roundish with a short nearly 

 straight beak. 



There are several varieties, probably forming two 

 distinct races. The plants of the first race have violet 

 flowers; here belong the following varieties: 

 1> var. ralgare Jaub. & Spach. ///. PI. Orient. 1:83. 1842.— 

 var. nigrum Alef. Oester. Bot. Zeits. 9:356. 1859. C. niZrum 

 Hort. ex Alef. /. c. 

 10 



