Part 18

Calyx short, 5-toothed, slightly 2-lipped. Standard large and rounded, turned back, scarcely longer than the wings and keel. Stamens diadelphous. Pod linear, flat, several-seeded, margined on the seed-bearing edge, at length 2-valved.--Trees or shrubs, often with prickly spines for stipules. Leaves odd-pinnate, the ovate or oblong leaflets stipellate. Flowers showy, in hanging axillary racemes. Base of the leaf-stalks covering the buds of the next year. (Named in honor of _John Robin_, herbalist to Henry IV. of France, and his son _Vespasian Robin_, who first cultivated the Locust-tree in Europe.)

1. R. Pseudacacia, L. (COMMON LOCUST or FALSE ACACIA.) Branches naked; _racemes slender, loose_; flowers white, fragrant; pod smooth.--S. Penn. to Ind., Iowa, and southward. Commonly cultivated as an ornamental tree, and for its valuable timber; naturalized in many places. June.

2. R. viscosa, Vent. (CLAMMY L.) _Branchlets and leaf-stalks clammy; flowers crowded in oblong racemes_, tinged with rose-color, nearly inodorous; pod glandular-hispid.--Va. to N. C. and Ga., in the mountains. Cultivated, like the last, and often escaped. June.

3. R. hispida, L. (BRISTLY L. or ROSE ACACIA.) Shrub 3--8 deg. high; _branchlets and stalks bristly_; flowers large and deep rose-color, inodorous; pods glandular-hispid.--Varies with less bristly or nearly naked branchlets; also with smaller flowers, etc.--Mts. of Va. to N. C. and Ga. May, June.

20. WISTARIA, Nutt.

Calyx campanulate, somewhat 2-lipped; upper lip of 2 short teeth, the lower of 3 longer ones. Standard roundish, large, turned back, with 2 callosities at its base; keel scythe-shaped; wings doubly auricled at the base. Stamens diadelphous. Pods elongated, thickish, knobby, stipitate, many-seeded, at length 2-valved. Seeds large.--Woody twiners, climbing high, with minute stipules, pinnate leaves of 9--13 ovate-lanceolate leaflets, with or without minute stipels, and dense racemes of large and showy lilac-purple flowers. (Dedicated to the late _Professor Wistar_, of Philadelphia.)

1. W. frutescens, Poir. Downy or smoothish when old; wings of the corolla with one short auricle and an awl-shaped one as long as the claw.--Alluvial grounds, Va. to Fla., west to S. Ind., Kan. and La. May.--Sometimes cultivated for ornament, as is the still handsomer Chinese species.

21. ASTRAGALUS, Tourn. MILK-VETCH.

Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla usually long and narrow; standard narrow, equalling or exceeding the wings and blunt keel, its sides reflexed or spreading. Stamens diadelphous. Pod several--many-seeded, various, mostly turgid, one or both sutures usually projecting into the cell, either slightly or so as to divide the cavity lengthwise into two.--Chiefly herbs (ours perennials), with odd-pinnate leaves and spiked or racemed flowers. Mature pods are usually necessary for certain identification of the species. (The ancient Greek name of a leguminous plant, as also of the ankle-bone; but the connection between the two is past all guess.)

I. _Pod turgid, completely or imperfectly 2-celled by the intrusion of the dorsal suture, the ventral suture being not at all or less deeply inflexed._--ASTRAGALUS proper.

[*] _Pod plum-shaped, succulent, becoming thick and fleshy, indehiscent, not stipitute, completely 2-celled._

1. A. caryocarpus, Ker. (GROUND PLUM.) Pale and minutely appressed-pubescent; leaflets narrowly oblong; flowers in a short spike-like raceme; _corolla violet-purple; fruit glabrous, ovate-globular, more or less pointed_, about {2/3}' in diameter, _very thick-walled_, cellular or corky when dry.--Sask. and Minn. to Mo., Col., and Tex. May.

2. A. Mexicanus, A. DC. Smoother, or pubescent with looser hairs, larger; leaflets roundish, obovate, or oblong; flowers larger (10--12'' long); calyx softly hairy; _corolla cream-color, bluish only at the tip; fruit globular, very obtuse_ and pointless, 1' or more in diameter; otherwise like the last.--Prairies and open plains, Ill. to Kan., south to Tex. The unripe fruits of both resemble green plums--whence the popular name--and are eaten, raw or cooked, by travellers.

3. A. Plattensis, Nutt. Loosely villous; stipules conspicuous; leaflets oblong, often glabrous above; flowers crowded in a short spike or oblong head, cream-color often tinged or tipped with purple; _fruit ovate, pointed_, and with the calyx _villous_.--Gravelly or sandy banks, Minn. to Ind. and Ala., west to Col. and Tex.--Var. TENNESSEENSIS, Gray, has the pod oblong and slightly curved, and much less fleshy. May.

[*][*] _Pod dry, coriaceous, cartilaginous or membranous, dehiscent._

[+] _Pod completely 2-celled, sessile._

4. A. mollissimus, Torr. _Stout, decumbent, densely silky-villous throughout and tomentose_; leaflets 19--29, ovate-oblong; peduncles elongated; spikes dense, with rather _large violet flowers_ (6--12'' long); pod narrow-oblong (5--9'' long), glabrous, somewhat obcompressed and _sulcate at both sutures_, at length incurved.--Neb. to Kan. and Tex., west to Col. The most common "loco"-plant, and said to be very poisonous to cattle.

5. A. Canadensis, L. _Tall and erect_ (1--4 deg. high), _somewhat pubescent or glabrate_; leaflets 21--27, oblong; _flowers greenish cream-color_, very numerous, in long dense spikes, pods crowded, oblong (6'' long), glabrous, _terete, scarcely sulcate_ and only on the back, nearly straight.--River-banks, western N. Y. to N. Ga., and far westward.

6. A. adsurgens, Pall. Ascending or decumbent (4--18' high), cinereous with minute appressed pubescence or glabrate; leaflets about 21, narrowly or linear-oblong; spike dense, with medium-sized pale or purplish flowers; _pubescence of calyx appressed_; pod oblong (4--5'' long), _finely pubescent, triangular-compressed, with a deep dorsal furrow, straight_.--Red River valley, Minn., to W. Kan., and westward. (Asia.)

7. A. hypoglottis, L. _Slender_ (6'--2 deg. long), diffusely procumbent or ascending, _with a rather loose pubescence_ or nearly glabrous; leaflets 15--21, oblong, obtuse or retuse; _flowers violet, capitate; calyx loosely pubescent; pod_ as in the last, but _ovate_ and _silky-villous_.--Red River valley, Minn., to central Kan. and westward.

[+][+] _Pod not completely 2-celled._

[++] _Pod stipitate, pendent._

8. A. alpinus, L. _Diffuse_ (6--12' high), smooth or slightly hairy; leaflets 13--25; flowers _violet-purple_, or at least the keel tipped with violet or blue; calyx campanulate; pod narrowly oblong, short-acuminate, _black-pubescent_, triangular-turgid, deeply grooved on the back, straight or curved, its stipe usually rather exceeding the calyx.--Rocky banks, Lab. to Maine and N. Vt.

9. A. Robbinsii, Gray. Nearly smooth and _erect_ (1 deg. high), slender; leaflets 7--11; calyx more oblong; _flowers white_; pod oblong (6'' long), obtuse or acutish, _minutely darkish-pubescent_, somewhat laterally compressed, _not dorsally sulcate_ or obsoletely so, straight or somewhat incurved, rather abruptly narrowed at base into the often included stipe.--Rocky ledges, Vt.

10. A. racemosus, Pursh. Stout (1--2 deg. high), erect or ascending, appressed-pubescent or glabrate; leaflets 13--25; flowers numerous, white, pendent; calyx campanulate, gibbous, white-pubescent; pod straight, narrow, 1' long, acute at both ends, triangular-compressed, deeply grooved on the back, the ventral edge acute.--Neb. to Mo., and westward.

[++][++] _Pod sessile._

11. A. gracilis, Nutt. Subcinereous, slender (1 deg. high or more); leaflets 11--17, linear, obtuse or retuse; racemes loose; flowers small (3'' long); _pods pendent_, 2--3'' long, coriaceous, elliptic-ovate, _concave on the back_, the ventral suture prominent, _white-hairy_, at length glabrous, _transversely veined_.--Minn. to Neb. and Mo., and westward.

12. A. distortus, Torr. & Gray. Low, diffuse, many-stemmed, subglabrous; leaflets 17--25, oblong, emarginate; flowers in a short spike, pale-purple; pod ovate- or lance-oblong, curved, 6--9'' long, glabrous, thick-coriaceous, somewhat grooved on the back, the ventral suture nearly flat.--Ill. to Iowa, Mo., Ark. and Tex.

13. A. lotiflorus, Hook. Hoary or cinereous with appressed hairs; stems very short; leaflets 7--13, lance-oblong; flowers yellowish, in few-flowered heads, with peduncles exceeding the leaves or very short; _calyx campanulate, the subulate teeth exceeding the tube_; pod oblong-ovate, 9--12'' long, acuminate, _acute at base_, canescent, the back more or less impressed, the acute ventral suture nearly straight.--Sask. to Neb. and Tex., west to the mountains.

14. A. Missouriensis, Nutt. Short-caulescent, hoary with a closely appressed silky pubescence; leaflets 5--15, oblong, elliptic or obovate; flowers few, capitate or spicate, 5--8'' long, violet; _calyx oblong, the teeth very slender_; pod oblong (1' long), acute, _obtuse at base_, pubescent, nearly straight, obcompressed or obcompressed-triangular, depressed on the back and the ventral suture more or less prominent, transversely rugulose.--Sask. to Neb. and N. Mex.

II. _Pod 1-celled, neither suture being inflexed or the ventral more intruded than the dorsal._--PHACA.

15. A. Cooperi, Gray. Nearly smooth, erect (1--2 deg. high); leaflets 11--21, elliptical or oblong, somewhat retuse, minutely hoary beneath; flowers white, rather numerous in a short spike; calyx dark-pubescent; pod coriaceous, _inflated, ovate-globose_ (6--9'' long), _acute, glabrous, slightly sulcate on both sides_, cavity webby.--Ont. and western N. Y. to Minn. and Iowa.

16. A. flexuosus, Dougl. Ashy-puberulent, ascending (1--2 deg. high); leaflets 11--21, mostly narrow; flowers small, in loose racemes; pod thin-coriaceous, _cylindric_ (8--11'' long, 2'' broad), pointed, straight or curved, puberulent, very shortly stipitate.--Red River Valley, Minn., to Col.

22. OXYTROPIS, DC.

Keel tipped with a sharp projecting point or appendage; otherwise as in Astragalus. Pod often more or less 2-celled by the intrusion of the ventral suture.--Our species are low, nearly acaulescent perennials, with tufts of numerous very short stems from a hard and thick root or rootstock, covered with scaly adnate stipules; pinnate leaves of many leaflets; peduncles scape-like, bearing a head or short spike of flowers. (Name from [Greek: o)xy/s], _sharp_, and [Greek: tro/pis], _keel_.)

[*] _Leaves simply pinnate._

1. O. campestris, DC., var. caerulea, Koch. _Pubescent or smoothish_; leaflets lanceolate or oblong; flowers violet or blue, sometimes pure white; _pods_ ovate or oblong-lanceolate, of a _thin or papery_ texture.--N. Maine to Labrador.

2. O. Lamberti, Pursh. _Silky with fine appressed hairs_; leaflets mostly linear; flowers larger, purple, violet, or sometimes white; _pods cartilaginous or firm-coriaceous_ in texture, silky-pubescent, strictly erect, cylindraceous-lanceolate and long-pointed, almost 2-celled by intrusion of the ventral suture.--Dry plains, Sask. and Minn. to Mo. and Tex., west to the mountains.

[*][*] _Leaflets numerous, mostly in fascicles of 3 or 4 or more along the rhachis._

3. O. splendens, Dougl. Silvery silky-villous (6--12' high); scape spicately several to many-flowered; flowers erect-spreading; pod ovate, erect, 2-celled, hardly surpassing the very villous calyx.--Plains of Sask. and W. Minn., to N. Mex. and the Rocky Mts.

23. GLYCYRRHIZA, Tourn. LIQUORICE.

Calyx with the two upper lobes shorter or partly united. Anther-cells confluent at the apex, the alternate ones smaller. Pod ovate or oblong-linear, compressed, often curved, clothed with rough glands or short prickles, scarcely dehiscent, few-seeded. The flower, etc., otherwise as in Astragalus.--Long perennial root sweet (whence the name, from [Greek: glyky/s], _sweet_, and [Greek: r(i/za], _root_); herbage glandular-viscid; leaves odd-pinnate, with minute stipules; flowers in axillary spikes, white or bluish.

1. G. lepidota, Nutt. (WILD LIQUORICE.) Tall (2--3 deg. high); leaflets 15--19, oblong-lanceolate, mucronate-pointed, sprinkled with little scales when young, and with corresponding dots when old; spikes peduncled, short; flowers whitish; pods oblong, beset with hooked prickles, so as to resemble the fruit of Xanthium on a smaller scale.--Minn. to Iowa and Mo., and westward; Ft. Erie, Ont.

24. AESCHYNOMENE, L. SENSITIVE JOINT-VETCH.

Calyx 2-lipped; the upper lip 2-, the lower 3-cleft. Standard roundish; keel boat-shaped. Stamens diadelphous in two sets of 5 each. Pod flattened, composed of several easily separable joints.--Leaves odd-pinnate with several pairs of leaflets, sometimes sensitive, as if shrinking from the touch (whence the name, from [Greek: ai)schynome/ne], _being ashamed_.)

1. AE. hispida, Willd. Erect, rough-bristly annual; leaflets 37--51, linear; racemes few-flowered; flowers yellow, reddish externally; pod stalked, 6--10-jointed.--Along rivers, S. Penn. to Fla. and Miss. Aug.

25. CORONILLA, L.

Calyx 5-toothed. Standard orbicular; keel incurved. Stamens diadelphous, 9 and 1. Pod terete or 4-angled, jointed; the joints oblong.--Glabrous herbs or shrubs, with pinnate leaves, and the flowers in umbels terminating axillary peduncles. (Diminutive of _corona_, a _crown_, alluding to the inflorescence.)

C. VARIA, L. A perennial herb with ascending stems; leaves sessile; leaflets 15--25, oblong; flowers rose-color; pods coriaceous, 3--7-jointed, the 4 angled joints 3--4'' long.--Conn. to N. J. (Nat. from Eu.)

26. HEDYSARUM, Tourn.

Calyx 5-cleft, the lobes awl-shaped and nearly equal. Keel nearly straight, obliquely truncate, not appendaged, longer than the wings. Stamens diadelphous, 5 and 1. Pod flattened, composed of several equal-sided separable roundish joints connected in the middle.--Perennial herbs; leaves odd-pinnate. (Name composed of [Greek: e(dy/s], _sweet_, and [Greek: a)/roma], _smell_.)

1. H. boreale, Nutt. Leaflets 13--21, oblong or lanceolate, nearly glabrous; stipules scaly, united opposite the petiole; raceme of many deflexed purple flowers; standard shorter than the keel; joints of the pod 3 or 4, smooth, reticulated.--Lab. to northern Maine and Vt.; north shore of L. Superior, and north and westward.

27. DESMODIUM, Desv. TICK-TREFOIL.

Calyx usually more or less 2 lipped. Standard obovate; wings adherent to the straight or straightish and usually truncate keel, by means of a little transverse appendage on each side of the latter. Stamens diadelphous, 9 and 1, or monadelphous below. Pod flat, deeply lobed on the lower margin, separating into few or many flat reticulated joints (mostly roughened with minute hooked hairs, by which they adhere to the fleece of animals or to clothing).--Perennial herbs, with pinnately 3-foliolate (rarely 1-foliolate) leaves, stipellate. Flowers (in summer) in axillary or terminal racemes, often panicled, and 2 or 3 from each bract, purple or purplish, often turning green in withering. Stipules and bracts scale-like, often striate. (Name from [Greek: desmo/s], _a bond_ or _chain_, from the connected joints of the pods.)

Sec. 1. _Pod raised on a stalk (stipe) many times longer than the slightly toothed calyx and nearly as long as the pedicel, straightish on the upper margin, deeply sinuate on the lower; the 1--4 joints mostly half-obovate and concave on the back; stamens monadelphous below; plants nearly glabrous; stems erect or ascending; raceme terminal, panicled; stipules bristle-form, deciduous._

1. D. nudiflorum, DC. _Leaves all crowded at the summit of sterile stems_; leaflets broadly ovate, bluntish, whitish beneath; _raceme elongated on an ascending mostly leafless stalk or scape from the root_, 2 deg. long.--Dry woods, common.

2. D. acuminatum, DC. _Leaves all crowded at the summit of the stem from which arises the elongated naked raceme or panicle_; leaflets round-ovate, taper-pointed, green both sides, the end one round (4--5' long).--Rich woods, from Canada to the Gulf.

3. D. pauciflorum, DC. _Leaves scattered_ along the low (8--15' high) ascending stems; leaflets rhombic-ovate, bluntish, pale beneath; _raceme few-flowered_, terminal.--Woods, Ont. to Penn., Mich., Kan., and southward.

Sec. 2. _Pod raised on a stalk (stipe) little if at all surpassing the deeply deft calyx; stems long and prostrate or decumbent; racemes axillary and terminal._

[*] _Stipules conspicuous, ovate, attenuate, striate, persistent; racemes mostly simple._

4. D. rotundifolium, DC. _Soft-hairy all over_, truly prostrate; _leaflets orbicular_, or the odd one slightly rhomboid; _flowers purple_; pods almost equally sinuate on both edges, 3--5-jointed; the joints rhomboid-oval.--Dry rocky woods, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Minn., Mo., and La.

Var. glabratum, Gray, is almost glabrous, otherwise nearly as the ordinary form.--Mass. and N. Y.

5. D. ochroleucum, M. A. Curtis. _Stems sparsely hairy_, decumbent; leaflets nearly glabrous, ovate, acute or obtuse, transversely reticulated beneath, the lateral ones smaller or sometimes wanting; racemes much elongated; _corolla whitish; pods twisted_, 2--4-jointed, the large rhomboid joints smooth and reticulated but the margins downy.--Woodlands, Md. and Va.

[*][*] _Stipules smaller, lanceolate and awl-shaped, less persistent; racemes panicled._

6. D. humifusum, Beck. _Glabrous or nearly so_, procumbent; _leaflets ovate or ovate-oblong_, rather obtuse, much smaller than in the two preceding (11/4--2' long), corolla purple; pods 2--4-jointed, flat, the oval-rhomboid joints minutely scabrous throughout.--Dry sandy soil, S. Penn. to Md.

Sec. 3. _Pod slightly if at all stalked in the calyx; racemes panicled._

[*] _Stems tall (3--5 deg.) and erect; the persistent stipules and deciduous bracts large and conspicuous, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, taper-pointed; flowers rather large._

[+] _Pods of 4--7 unequal-sided rhombic joints, which are considerably longer than broad (about 6'' long)._

7. D. canescens, DC. Stem loosely branched, _hairy; leaflets ovate, bluntish, about the length of the petioles, whitish and reticulated beneath_, both sides roughish with a close fine pubescence; joints of the pod very adhesive.--Moist grounds, Mass. and Vt. to Minn. and southward, chiefly westward. Branches clothed with both minute and hooked, and longer, spreading, rather glutinous hairs.--Var. VILLOSISSIMUM, Torr. & Gray, has the panicle and upper part of the stem very villous, and leaflets oblong-ovate.--Mo.

8. D. cuspidatum, Torr. & Gray. _Very smooth_ except the panicle; stem straight; _leaflets lanceolate-ovate and taper-pointed_, green both sides, longer than the petiole (3--5'); joints of the pod rhomboid-oblong, smoothish.--Thickets, common. The conspicuous bracts and stipules 3/4' long.

[+][+] _Pods of 3--5 oval joints (not over 3'' long)._

9. D. Illinoense, Gray. Erect (3--5 deg. high); stem and leaves with short rough pubescence; leaflets ovate-oblong or ovate-lanceolate (2--4' long), obtuse, subcoriaceous, cinereous beneath, veins and veinlets prominent, strongly reticulated, the lower leaflets nearly equalling the petiole; pods scarcely over 1' long, sinuate on both margins (deeper below).--Dry ground, Ill. to Iowa and Kan.

[*][*] _Stems (2--5 deg. high) erect; stipules and bracts mostly deciduous, small and inconspicuous; joints of the pod 3--5, triangular or half-rhombic or very unequal-sided rhomboidal, longer than broad, 3'' or less in length; flowers middle-sized._

10. D. laevigatum, DC. _Smooth_ or nearly so throughout; stem straight; _leaflets ovate_, bluntish, pale beneath (2--3' long); panicles minutely rough-pubescent.--Pine woods, N. J. to Fla., west to Mo. and Tex.

11. D. viridiflorum, Beck. Stem _very downy_, rough at the summit; _leaflets broadly ovate_, very obtuse, rough above, _whitened with a soft velvety down underneath_ (2--3' long).--Southern N. Y. to N. J. and Fla., west to Mich., Mo., and Tex.

12. D. Dillenii, Darlingt. Stem pubescent; _leaflets oblong or oblong-ovate_, commonly bluntish, pale beneath, _softly and finely pubescent_, mostly thin (2--3' long).--Open woodlands, common.

13. D. paniculatum, DC. _Nearly smooth_ throughout; stem slender, tall; _leaflets oblong-lanceolate, or narrowly lanceolate, tapering to a blunt point, thin_ (3--5' long); racemes much panicled.--Copses, common.

14. D. strictum, DC. Stem very straight and slender, simple (2--3 deg. high), the upper part and narrow panicle rough-glandular; _leaflets linear, blunt, strongly reticulated, thickish, very smooth_ (1--2' long, 1/4' wide); joints of the pod 1--3, semi-obovate or very gibbous (only 2'' long).--Pine woods, N. J. to Fla. and La.

[*][*][*] _Stipules small and inconspicuous, mostly deciduous; pods of few roundish or obliquely oval or sometimes roundish-rhomboidal joints, 11/2--21/2'' long._

[+] _Stems erect; bracts before flowering conspicuous; racemes densely flowered._

15. D. Canadense, DC. Stem hairy (3--6 deg. high); _leaflets oblong-lanceolate_ or ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, with numerous straightish veins, _much longer than the petiole_ (11/2--3' long); _flowers showy_, larger than in any other species (1/2--{1/3}' long).--Dry rich woods, N. Brunswick to N. C., Minn., and Kan.

16. D. sessilifolium, Torr. & Gray. Stem pubescent (2--4 deg. high); _leaves nearly sessile; leaflets linear_ or linear-oblong, blunt, thickish, reticulated, rough above, downy beneath; branches of the panicle long; _flowers small_.--Copses, Penn. and Ky., west to Mich., Iowa, Mo., and Tex.

[+][+] _Stems ascending (1--3 deg. high); bracts small; racemes or panicles elongated and loosely flowered; flowers small._

17. D. rigidum, DC. Stem branching, _somewhat hoary_, like the lower surface of the leaves, with a close roughish pubescence; _leaflets ovate-oblong_, blunt, thickish, reticulated-veiny, rather rough above, _the lateral ones longer than the petiole_.--Dry hillsides, Mass. to Fla., west to Mich., Mo., and La.

18. D. ciliare, DC. Stem slender, _hairy or rough-pubescent; leaves crowded, on very short hairy petioles; leaflets round-ovate or oval_, thickish, more or less hairy on the margins and underneath (1/2--1' long).--Dry hills and sandy fields, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Mich., Mo., and Tex.

19. D. Marilandicum, F. Boott. _Nearly smooth_ throughout, slender; _leaflets ovate or roundish_, very obtuse, thin, _the lateral ones about the length of the slender petiole_; otherwise resembling the preceding.--Copses, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Mich., Mo., and La.

[+][+][+] _Stems reclining or prostrate; racemes loosely flowered._

20. D. lineatum, DC. Stem minutely pubescent, striate-angled; leaflets orbicular, smoothish (1/2--1' long), much longer than the petiole; pod scarcely stalked in the calyx.--Dry soil, Md. and Va. to Fla. and La.

28. LESPEDEZA, Michx. BUSH-CLOVER.

Calyx 5-cleft; the lobes nearly equal, slender. Stamens diadelphous (9 and 1); anthers all alike. Pods of a single 1-seeded joint (sometimes 2 jointed, with the lower joint empty and stalk-like), oval or roundish, flat, reticulated.--Herbs with pinnately 3-foliolate leaves, not stipellate. Flowers often polygamous, in summer and autumn. (Dedicated to _Lespedez_, the Spanish governor of Florida in the time of Michaux.)

Sec. 1. _Stipules subulate-setaceous; bracts minute; calyx-lobes attenuate; perennial._

[*] _Flowers of two sorts, the larger (violet-purple) perfect, but seldom fruitful, panicled or clustered; with smaller pistillate and fertile but mostly apetalous ones intermixed or in small subsessile clusters; calyx 1--2'' long; pod exserted._

1. L. procumbens, Michx. _Slender, trailing and prostrate_, minutely appressed-hairy to soft-downy; leaflets oval or obovate-elliptical, 3--9'' long; _peduncles very slender, few-flowered_; keel equalling the wings; pod small, roundish, obtuse or acute. (Incl. L. repens, _Bart._)--Dry sandy soil; common.