THE will I.H.I Ml S OF MARYLAND AND THEIR UTILIZATION. Ill 



KEY. 



The different kinds of leguminous plants of Maryland, may for 

 in finding the names, be divided into the following classes: A, 

 Trees: B, Climbing or trailing vines; I !, Erecl or spreading herbs. 



A. The three trees may be distinguished as follows: i. Leaves 

 large and heart-shaped, the pink flowers appearing in the spring before 

 the leaves — red-bud. 2. Leaves with g to 20 leaflets, 2 spines at the 



of each leaf — black locust. 3. Leaves with many small leaflets, 

 usually many large thorns on the body of the tree — honey locust. 

 Albizzia. usually seen in cultivation, has many very small leaflets and 

 no thorns. 



B. If the vine is woody it is wistaria, if not, and each leaf has 

 several leaflets, the vine is one of the following three: A tendril at the 

 apex of the leaf indicating that it is one of the 7 kinds of (1) retches 

 that we have, or one of our two species of (2) lathyrus; if there are 

 no tendrils it is the (3) ground-nut. 



Several of the vines have only three leaflets to each leaf. If the 

 pods of these are composed of more or less triangular, flat, adhesive 

 joints, it is a beggar-tick. If the pod is small, flat, and one-seeded, it 

 is a bush-clover. If the pods of the vine are bean or pea-like, it is one 

 of the following: Butterfly pea (with large purple flowers), one of 

 the hog peanuts, the milk pea or one of the three wild beans. 



Black medic and some of the clovers are sometimes vine-like. 



C. If the herb at hand has only one leaflet to each leaf it is rattle- 

 box. 



[f each leaf has three leaflets, and the pods are several seeded, it is 

 one of the two indigos (with inflated pods), one of the many beggar- 

 ticks (with flat, jointed, adhesive pods), butterfly pea (with large pur- 

 plish flowers) or the milk pea. 



If each leaf has three leaflets and the pods are only one-seeded, it 

 is one of the two sweet clovers (with small, yellow or white flowers in 

 loose spikes), alfalfa, black medic, one of the clovers (with small flow- 

 ers in heads) one of the many bush-clovers, (with flat, one-seeded pods), 

 Japan clove- or pencil flozver. 



If there are several leaflets radiating from the end of the leaf stalk 

 it is lupine. 



If the leaves are pinnate with several leaflets and have yellow or 

 oram rs the plant is one of the partridge peas, wild soma 



or joint vetch. If the flowei >me other color the plant may be 



cracca. milk vetch or crown retch. 



After comparing the plants with the above key look them up in 

 the following catalogue of species where the plants named in the key 

 will be found further described. 



Sixty-eight of thi- family have been found wild in this 



State and several others probably occur rarely. Each of these is taken 

 up in the followii 5, and it ^ distribution in the State, abundance, 



