VICIA. 
203 
Habit of V. sativa L., but distinguished by its strongly retuse 
or obcordate subbilobed lfts., black and narrow pods which are 
only half as broad in proportion to their length, smooth instead 
of pubescent, and less distinctly reticulate or veiny, with the 
seeds not prominent and much smaller. 
3. V. conspicua Lowe. 
Slender with dull dark foliage mostly smooth sometimes pu- 
bescent ; st. thin slender wiry branched climbing rampant ; lfts. 
in 4-6 pairs obovate-oblong or oblong retuse or truncate, promi- 
nently awned or mucronate, not more than 3-6 times as long as 
broad, the lower broader obcordate, the uppermost only, narrow- 
oblong or linear sometimes lanceolate or elliptic ; stip. semisagit- 
tate many-toothed laciniate, the teeth acuminate, darkly branded 
beneath ; ji. 1 or %-A-nate mostly 2-nate, the lower solitary, upper 
3-4-nate, shortly but distinctly stalked except quite the upper- 
most, conspicuous ; cor. pea-like with the standard at least as broad 
as long ; cal. subpubescent, sep. linear-subulate nearly equal and 
nearly or about the length of tube ; pods straight narrow sub- 
cylindric 8-10 times as long as broad black puberulous even or 
scarcely nodulose, not reticulate or veiny, 9-12-seeded; seeds 
small subglobose smooth even brown speckled with black , without 
any intermediate dissepiment. 
a. Iceta-, nearly or quite smooth, rarely pubescent; upper 
lfts. oblong, uppermost narrow-oblong mostly linear ; fl. bright 
purple-crimson. — V. conspicua Novit. 22 or 544. — Herb. ann. 
Mad. reg. 1, 2, ccc. Vineyards about Funchal, waste ground, 
cornfields, open mountain pastures and grassy places in ravines 
and thickets everywhere, a common weed. Jan.-July. — St. at 
first in early spring dwarfish low and spreading, but soon ascend- 
ing branched and ultimately climbing to the height of 2 or 3 ft. by 
the branched twining tendrils; slender thin and delicate, but 
wiry or somewhat hard and tough. Foliage thin dark some- 
what lurid-sinoky-gr. Lfts. of lowest 1. in 2 or 3 pairs small 
short broadly obcordate or rounded-obovate, scarcely longer than 
broad ; of the middle oblong-obovate retuse ; of the uppermost 
linear-oblong truncate; all prominently awned or mucronate, 
mostly quite smooth at least above, sometimes pubescent ; mostly 
3 or 4-6 or 8 rarely 12 lines long, and 1-2 or 3 rarely 4 lines 
broad. Stip. strongly and sharply laciniate-toothed, darkly im- 
pressed beneath, the barb at their base recurved. Fl. large hand- 
some of a deep bright crimson-purple, the standard large and 
broad, not small and narrow as in V. cordata, at first solitary 
early in the year, then in pairs, and finally in clusters of 3 or 4 
together towards the ends of the branches as the season ad- 
vances ; all distinctly stalked except quite the uppermost on the 
pi. or the lowest of the 2-4-fid. upper rac. Cal. pale or dark 
