PEA FAMILY. 233 



broad, obtuse, joined to the wings. Stamens monadelphous or diadelphous; 

 anthers uniform. Pod seldom exceeding the calyx, 1-seeded, indehiscent. 

 (Greek psoraleos, scurfy or rough, the glands wart-like in some species.) 



Leaves pinnate with 3 leaflets. 



Stems prostrate; leaves and peduncles erect; flowers racemose; stamens diadelphous 



1. P. orbicularis. 

 Erect plants. 



Flowers in spikes, purple. 



Peduncles shorter than the leaves; stamens monadelphous 2. P. strobilina. 



Peduncles much surpassing the leaves; tenth stamen nearly free. 



More or less pubescent; calyx-teeth exceeding the petals.... 3. P. macrostachya. 

 Nearly glabrous but for the elevated roundish glands on the stem; calyx-teeth 



shorter than the petals 4. P. douglasii. 



Flowers in racemes, greenish white; stamens monadelphous 5. P. physodes. 



Leaves palmate with 5 leaflets 6. P. calif or nica. 



1. P. orbicularis Lindl. Stems prostrate, creeping and rooting, the long- 

 stalked leaves and the often long peduncles erect; herbage finely pubescent, 

 the inflorescence villous; leaflets 2% to 3 in. long, the lateral pair obovate, the 

 middle one more nearly orbicular; petioles 6 to 15 in. long; spikes varying from 

 3 to 10 in. long, borne on peduncles which equal or exceed the leaves; flowers 

 6 lines long; calyx with stipitate glands scattered among the hairs, cleft almost 

 to the base, the lowest tooth as long as the purplish corolla; pod ovate, acute, 

 3 lines long. 



Grassy vales or meadows near the coast from Monterey to Santa Clara, 

 Rinds, 1837, Marin Co. and Pt. Arena; southward to Southern California, 

 northward ranging towards the interior (Howell Mt., Mt. Shasta), but only at 

 considerable altitudes. June. 



2. P. strobilina H. & A. Erect, 2 or 3 ft. high, villous throughout and 

 glandular-pubescent on the branches, peduncles and petioles; leaflets orbicular 

 to rhombic-ovate, more glabrous above, 2 in. long; stipules large, membranous, 

 acuminate; peduncles shorter than the leaves; spikes short-oblong, the bracts 

 very large, deciduous; calyx 6 lines long or more, the lower tooth much the 

 longest and equaling the purple corolla; stamens monadelphous; ovary 

 pubescent. 



Hill country from Contra Costa and Alameda cos. to Santa Cruz. Seldom 

 collected. 

 3. P. macrostachya DC. Leather Boot. Stems erect, 4 or 5 or even 8 

 or 10 ft. high; herbage variable, nearly glabrous, villous-pubescent or tomen- 

 tose; leaflets ovate-lanceolate, truncate to acute at base, 1% to 3 in. long; 

 peduncles very much exceeding the leaves; spikes broadly cylindrical, silky- 

 villous with white hairs; bracts broad, acuminate, as long as the flowers; calyx 

 3 to 5 lines long, the lower tooth a little the longest, exceeding or equaling the 

 purple petals, the 4 upper teeth short, broadly lanceolate ; corolla blue, the lower 

 portion of banner dull greenish; tenth stamen nearly free; pod hairy, ovate- 

 oblong, acute, flattened, 3 or 4 lines long. 



Along rivers and larger streams in the valleys, following the canon bottoms 

 in the mountains, and common in the salt marshes, always in the richest soils. 

 The most common and widely distributed species of the genus, occurring both 

 in the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada foothills. Roots furnishing to the 

 Pomos and other native tribes a very tough fibre. 



4. P. douglasii Greene. Habit of the preceding, but more slender, nearly 

 glabrous, the stem, and often the petioles, sprinkled with elevated dot-like 

 glands; leaflets rhombic-ovate, 1*4 to 2 1 /> in. long; racemes narrower than in 

 the last, 2 to 3 in. long, on slender peduncles 3 or 4 in. long; bracts deltoid 



