PEA FAMILY. 237 



the leaves, bearing a loose spike-like raceme 4 to 6 in. long; corolla white; pod 

 coriaceous, oblong, acute, finely nerved on the sides, 2y 2 lines long, deflexedj 

 2-celled or nearly so. 



Local in the hills between the Mayacamas Kange and inner Coast Kange: 

 Indian Valley, Lake Co., Cleveland; Butt's Canon, northern Napa Co., Jepson. 

 June-July. 



13. VICIA L. Vetch. Tare. 



Annual or perennial herbs with weak angular stems, often slightly climbing. 

 Leaves pinnate, with several to many leaflets and semi-sagittate stipules, the 

 rachis ending in a simple or branched tendril. Peduncles axillary. Flowers 

 solitary or racemose. Calyx 5-toothed, the 3 lower teeth often longer. Banner 

 oblong, or appearing so by the turning back of the edges; wings united to 

 the middle of the keel. Stamens more or less diadelphous. Style filiform with 

 a tuft of hairs below the stigma all around or sometimes only on the back. 

 Pod flat, 2 to several-seeded. Seeds globose, the funiculus expanded above 

 to cover the hilum, thus arillate. Cotyledons remaining under ground in ger- 

 mination. (Classical Latin name.) 



Annuals; flowers few, 1 or 2 in the axils. 



Flowers subsessile 1. V. sativa. 



Flowers on elongated peduncles < 2. V. exigua. 



Perennials; peduncles elongated, several-flowered. 



Leaflets 8 to 12; peduncles 4 to 8-flowered 3. V. americana. 



Leaflets 20 to 30; peduncles 7 to 1 8-flowered 4. V. gigantea. 



1. V. sativa L. Common Vetch. Tare. Stems slender, 2 ft. high; 

 leaflets 6 to 12, glabrous, or the margins slightly ciliate, oblong or narrower, 

 truncate or retuse, mucronate, % to over 1 in. long; stipules small, toothed; 

 flowers solitary or germinate, nearly sessile, the pedicels 1 line long at most ; 

 corolla 8 lines long, little longer than the calyx; banner purple, wings red; 

 calyx-teeth subulate-setaceous, exceeding the tube. 



Naturalized from the Old World: Santa Cruz; Berkeley; Napa Valley; 

 Sonoma. 



2. V. exigua Nutt. California Vetch. Very slender, 1 to 2 ft. high; 

 leaflets 4 to 12, oblong to narrowly linear, acute or obtusish; peduncles fili- 

 form, shorter than the leaves, % to 2 in. long, 1 or 2-flowered; flowers 2 or 3 

 lines long, white or purplish; pod glabrous, 4 or 5-seeded. 



Stony or sandy soil: Tracy; San Mateo Co.; more common in Southern 

 California. Apr. Var. hassei Jepson. Stouter; leaflets of at least the lower 

 leaves deeply notched at apex, the notch mucronate; pod 5 to 8 or sometimes 

 only 3-seeded. — Benicia; Livermore; Southern California. Not common within 

 our limits. 



3. V. americana Muni. Stems 2 to 3 ft. long, trailing or climbing by 

 branched tendrils, sharply 4-sided or winged at the angles; herbage nearly 

 glabrous; leaflets mostly broadly oblong, often widest above the middle, usu- 

 ally obtuse, mucronulate, less than 1 in. long; peduncles shorter than the 

 leaves, 4 to 7 or 8-flowered; flowers at first purplish, changing to bluish, 9 

 lines long; calyx-tube 2 lines long, the low r er teeth longer (1 line long), the 

 upper approximate, incurved. 



Common in the hill country. Feb. -May. Very variable in foliage. The 

 following leaf varieties may be distinguished: Var. linearis Wats., leaflets 1 

 to \y 2 in. long, l 1 ^ lines wide or less. Var. truncata Brewer, leaflets truncate 

 at apex and 3-denticulate. 



4. V. gigantea Hook. Giant Vetch. Stout, somewhat pubescent, climb- 



