100 TKEES AND SHRUBS 



FABACEAE. Pea Family 



Herbs, shrubs, vines or trees, many of them of great eco- 

 nomic importance: leaves alternate, the blades mostly compound; 

 flowers perfect, solitary, clustered, racemose, or capitate; calyx 

 tubular or campaanlate, with 4 or 5 teeth or lobes; corolla papiliona- 

 ceous, (reduced to one petal in one genus and wanting in another); 

 stamens normally 10. ximetimes 9 or rarely 5; filaments monadel- 

 phous, diadelphous, or distinct; pistil of one carpel, becoming a 

 legume of various forms, dehiscent or indehiscent with few to many 

 peed-. 



Stamens 10, distinct. j. Sophora. 



Stamens 10 or fewer, monadelp.'iaus cr diadeiph- 

 ous; anthers all alike. 

 Leaves trifoliolate; leaves and stems with 

 scattering, hooked prickles; flowers bright 

 scarlet; banner very long. 9. Erythrixa. 



Leaves pinnately several to matiy-roiloiate, 

 flowers never bright scarlet; stems and 

 leaves without prickles, (except in Robinia) 

 Corolla wanting; flowers very small, dull 



yellowish green. 3. Pahrtella. 



Corolla present; flowers various. 

 Corolla of 1 petal, the stems smooth. 4. Amorpha. 



Corolla papilionaceous, of 5 petals; petals 

 hypogynous. 



Stems spiny; plant a small tree; pod 



many seeded. 5. Robixia. 



Four petals attached to column of the 

 stamens; stems not spinv; plants 

 low shrubs; pods 1 or 2 seeded. 6. Parosela 



I. BR0USS0NETIA. Coral Beax 



A stoul shrub 8 or 10 feet high or sometimes a small tree 

 with glossy, dark green compound leaves and violet flowers; leaf- 

 lets several, elliptic-oblong with entire margin, lighter colored be- 

 neath; flowers in terminal racemes; fruit a terete several seeded 

 pod 3 to 5 inches long with thick walls constricted between the 

 seeds; seeds bright red, larger than ordinary beans, said to be 

 poisonous. 



A single species. L B secundifloro. 



