LEGUMINOS^E. (PULSE FAMILY.) 139 



* # Annual, slender : peduncles elongated: flowers small. (Species of Ervum, L.) 



2. V. tetrasperma, L. Peduncles 1 -2-flowered; leaflets 4-6 pairs, linear- 

 oblong, obtuse ; calyx-teeth unequal ; corolla whitish ; pods narrowly oblong, 4- 

 seeded, smooth. — Waste or open places, near the coast. (Nat. from Eu.) 



3. V. HiRstrTA, Koch. Peduncles 3 - ^-flowered ; leaflets 6-8 pairs, trun- 

 cate ; calyx-teeth equal ; corolla bluish ; pods oblong, 2-seeded, hairy. — Massa- 

 chusetts to Virginia. (Nat. from Eu.) 



* * * Perennial : peduncles elongated ; calyx-teeth unequal : pod several-seeded. 



4. V. Cracca, L. Downy-pubescent ; leaflets 20 - 24, oblong-lanceolate, 

 strongly mucronate ; peduncles densely many-flowered ; calyx-teeth shorter than the 

 tube. — Borders of thickets, New England to Kentucky and northward : rather 

 rare. July. — Flowers blue, turning purple, 6" long, one-sided in the spike, 

 reflexed. (Eu.) 



5. V. Caroliniana, Walt, Nearly smooth ; leaflets 8 - 24, oblong, obtuse, 

 scarcely mucronate ; peduncles loosely flowered ; calyx-teeth very short. — River- 

 banks, &c. May. — Flowers small, more scattered than in the preceding, 

 whitish, the keel tipped with blue. 



6. V. Americana, Muhl. Glabrous; leaflets 10-14, elliptical or ovate- 

 oblong, very obtuse, many-veined; peduncles 4-8-flowered. — Moist soil, New 

 York to Kentucky and northward. June. — Flowers purplish, 8" long. 



23. LATHYEUS, L. Vetchling. Everlasting Pea. 



Style flattish, dilated and flattish (not grooved) above, hairy along the inner 

 side (next the free stamen). Sheath of the filaments scarcely oblique at the 

 apex. Otherwise nearly as in Vicia. (Ad6vpos, a leguminous plant of Theo- 

 phrastus.) — Our species are perennial and mostly smooth plants. 



1. L. maritimus, Bigelow. (Beach Pea.) Stem stout (1° high); 

 leaflets 4-8 pairs, crowded, oval or obovate ; stipules broadly halberd-shaped, 

 nearly as large as the leaflets; peduncles 6-10-flowered. — Sea-coast, from New 

 Jersey northward, and shore of the Great Lakes. June - Aug. — Flowers 

 large, purple. Leaflets very veiny, as also in the other species. (Eu.) 



2. L. venbsus, Muhl. Stem climbing (2° -5° high) ; leaflets 5-7 pairs, 

 scattered, oblong-ovate, often downy beneath ; stipules very small and usually slen- 

 der, half arrow-shaped, rarely larger and broader; peduncles many-floivered ; corolla 

 purple. — Shady banks, Penn. to Wisconsin, and southward. June. 



3. L. OChroleUCUS, Hook. Stem slender (l°-3° high); leaflets 3-4 

 pairs, ovate or oval, smooth, glaucous, thin ; stipules half heart-shaped, about half 

 as large as the leaflets; peduncles 7 - 10-flowered ; corolla yellowish-white, smaller 

 than in the last. — Hillsides, W Vermont to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and 

 northward. July. 



4. L. palustris, L. (Marsh Vetchling.) Stem slender (l°-2° high), 

 often winged -margined ; leaflets 2-4 pairs, lanceolate, linear, or narrowly ob- 

 long, mucronate-pointed ; stipules small, lanceolate, half arrow-shaped, sharp- 

 pointed at both ends ; peduncles 3 - 5-flowered ; corolla blue-purple. — Moist 

 places, N. England to Penn., Illinois, and northward. July. (Eu.) 



Var. myrtif61ius. Taller, climbing 2° - 4° high ; leaflets oblong or ovate- 



