Tin: WILD LBGUMES OF MARYLAND AND rilKlK UTILIZATION. 115 



position than in the partridge pea. ( >ccurs in the same area but not 



bundantly, and is a lover oi wet, sandy land. 



Wild senna, Cassia Marylandica, is an erect, little-branched, per- 

 ennial herb, three feet high; with Large, pinnate leaves ami short spikes 



ellow flowers. It occurs in rather moist soil, usually along road- 

 sides and edges of fields in Western Maryland, but is not common. It 



iund in all the Eastern and Southern States. The foliage is 

 sometimes used in medicine in place of the Old World senna. (Plate 1. 

 Figure 34). 



Bush-clovers, Lespedeza. There arc ten species of Lespedeza 

 found in the State. They resemble some of the more slender clovers, 

 having wiry stems with trifoliate leaves, the middle leaflets with a 

 short stalk. The pods are small, ilat and one-seeded. They form the 

 great body of the wild leguminous covering of the ground in woods and 

 old fields, are eaten by cattle and sheep, especially when young, 

 and do a great deal in building up waste land. 



Lespedeza capitata, is a yellow-flowered perennial, about three feet 

 high, with leaflets twice as long as broad. In dry fields or open, sand} 

 woods over the Eastern States. Not seen on Eastern Shore, but occa- 

 sionally in Western Maryland. It is a good pasture plant. (Plate I. 

 Figure 12). 



Lespedeza f rut esc ens. An erect perennial, two feet high, with oval 

 leaflets and clusters of purplish flowers at the top. In dry soil over the 

 Eastern United States. Frequent in Western Maryland but not so com- 

 mon in sandy lands as in the dry upland woods. 



Lespedeza Jiirta. A tall, hairy perennial, three feet high, with oval 

 leaflets and clusters of small, yellowish flowers above. In dry, mostly 

 rocky loam in Eastern States. This is one of the most common legumes 

 in the mountainous and highland counties of Maryland, but is infre- 

 quent on the Eastern Shore or in Southern Maryland. (Plate I. 

 Figure 22). 



Lcspcdcza Nuttallii is much like Lespedeza frutescens but the 

 flower clusters are longer stalked. It is found in dry soil in most of 

 the Eastern United States. In Maryland one specimen has been 

 from Baltimore County and one from Anne Arundel. 



Lcspcdcza procumbens is a trailing perennial, with hairy, oval 

 leaves and very open clusters of purplish flowers. Found mostly in dry 

 woods in the states east of the Mississippi. It has been seen in many 

 places in central Maryland in dry. or ('specially sandy, woods and in 

 the Atlantic coast counties. It is of some value in wild pastures. 

 (Plate I. Figure 23). 



Lespedeza re peas is similar to the last, but the leaves are smooth. 

 Tt is common in open. dry. sandy woods and old fields all over Maryland. 

 and from New Jersey to Texas. It often covers the ground in woods. 

 gfure [2 audi Plate I. Figure 24). 



Japan clover, Lespedeza striata, differs from the other Lcspedezas 

 it being an annual, about ten inches high. It has small, yellow fl" 1 



nd tin- leaflets blunt at I and tapering to the 



