The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States - Part 53
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Part 53

2. A. Pitcheri, Torr. & Gray. Leaflets usually 2--4' long; rhachis of the racemes usually villous; calyx 3" long, the teeth ac.u.minate; ovary hairy.--Western N. Y. to Ill., Mo., La., and Tex. The upper flowers more commonly fertile; apparently producing subterranean fruit but rarely.

38. GALaCTIA, P. Browne. MILK-PEA.

Calyx 4-cleft; the lobes acute, the upper one broadest, entire. Keel scarcely incurved. Stamens diadelphous or nearly so. Style beardless.

Pod linear, flat, several-seeded (some few of them rarely partly subterranean and fleshy or deformed).--Low, mostly prostrate or twining perennial herbs. Leaflets usually 3, stipellate. Flowers in somewhat interrupted or knotty racemes, purplish; in summer. (Name from ???a, -a?t??, _milk_; some species being said to yield a milky juice, which is unlikely.)

1. G. glabella, Michx. _Stems nearly smooth_, prostrate; leaflets elliptical or ovate-oblong, sometimes slightly hairy beneath; racemes short, 4--8-flowered; _pods somewhat hairy_.--Sandy woods, southern N. Y. to Va., Fla., and Miss.

2. G. pilsa, Ell. _Stems_ (dec.u.mbent and somewhat twining) and _leaves beneath soft-downy and h.o.a.ry_; leaflets oval; racemes many-flowered, _pods very downy_. (G. mollis, _Gray_, Manual; not _Michx._)--Penn. to Fla. and Miss.

39. RHYNCHSIA, Lour.

Calyx somewhat 2-lipped, or deeply 4--5-parted. Keel scythe-shaped, or incurved at the apex. Stamens diadelphous. Ovules only 2. Pod 1--2-seeded, short and flat, 2-valved.--Usually twining or trailing perennial herbs, pinnately 3-foliolate, or with a single leaflet, not stipellate. Flowers yellow, racemose or cl.u.s.tered. (Name from ??????, _a beak_, from the shape of the keel.)

1. R. tomentsa, Hook. & Arn. _Trailing and twining_, the stem and leaves more or less _p.u.b.escent with spreading hairs_; leaflets 3, _roundish or round-rhombic_, acute or acutish; _racemes_ few-flowered, almost _sessile in the axils_; calyx about as long as the corolla, 4-parted, the upper lobe 2-cleft; pod oblong. (R. tomentosa, var.

volubilis, _Torr. & Gray_.)--Dry soil, Va. to Fla. and Tex.

2. R. erecta, DC. _Erect_, 1--2 high; stem and leaves _more or less tomentose; leaflets 3, oval to oblong_, obtuse or acutish; racemes short and shortly pedunculate. (R. tomentosa, var. erecta, _Torr. & Gray_.)--Del. to Fla. and Miss.

3. R. reniformis, DC. _Dwarf and upright_, 3--8' high; _p.u.b.escence spreading; leaflets solitary_ (rarely 3), _round-reniform_, very obtuse or apiculate; racemes few-flowered, sessile in the axils. (R. tomentosa, var. monophylla, _Torr. & Gray_.)--Va. to Fla. and Miss.

40. CeRCIS, L. RED-BUD. JUDAS-TREE.

Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla imperfectly papilionaceous; standard smaller than the wings, and enclosed by them in the bud; the keel-petals larger and not united. Stamens 10, distinct, declined. Pod oblong, flat, many-seeded, the upper suture with a winged margin. Embryo straight.--Trees, with rounded heart-shaped simple leaves, caducous stipules, and red-purple flowers in umbel-like cl.u.s.ters along the branches of the last or preceding years, appearing before the leaves, acid to the taste. (The ancient name of the Oriental _Judas-tree_.)

1. C. Canadensis, L. (RED-BUD.) Leaves pointed; pods nearly sessile above the calyx.--Rich soil, N. Y. and N. J. to Fla., west to S. Minn., Kan., and La. A small ornamental tree, often cultivated.

41. Ca.s.sIA, Tourn. SENNA.

Sepals 5, scarcely united at base. Petals 5, little unequal, spreading.

Stamens 5--10, unequal, and some of them often imperfect, spreading; anthers opening by 2 pores or c.h.i.n.ks at the apex. Pod many-seeded, often with cross part.i.tions.--Herbs (in the United States), with simply and abruptly pinnate leaves, and mostly yellow flowers. (An ancient name of obscure derivation.)

[*] _Leaflets large; stipules deciduous; the three upper anthers deformed and imperfect; flowers in short axillary racemes, the upper ones panicled; herbage glabrous_.

1. C. Marilandica, L. (WILD SENNA.) Stem 3--4 high; _leaflets 6--9 pairs, lanceolate-oblong, obtuse_; petiole with a club-shaped gland near the base; pods linear, slightly curved, flat, at first hairy (2--4'

long); root perennial.--Alluvial soil, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Mich., S. E. Neb., Kan., and La.

2. C. Tra, L. Annual; _leaflets 3 or rarely 2 pairs, obovate, obtuse_, with an elongated gland between those of the lower pairs or lowest pair; pods slender, 6' long, curved. (C. obtusifolia, _L._)--River-banks, S. Va. to Fla., west to S. Ind., Mo., and Ark.

C. OCCIDENTaLIS, L. Annual; _leaflets 4--6 pairs, ovate-lanceolate, acute_; an ovate gland at the base of the petiole; pods long linear (5'

long) with a tumid border, glabrous.--Va., S. Ind., and southward. (Adv.

from Trop. Amer.)

[*][*] _Leaflets small, somewhat sensitive to the touch; stipules striate, persistent; a cup-shaped gland beneath the lowest pair of leaflets; anthers all perfect; flowers in small cl.u.s.ters above the axils; pods flat; root annual._

3. C. Chamaecrista, L. (PARTRIDGE PEA.) Stems spreading (1 long); leaflets 10--15 pairs, linear-oblong, oblique at the base; _flowers (large) on slender pedicels_, 2 or 3 of the showy yellow petals often with a purple spot at base; _anthers 10, elongated, unequal_ (4 of them yellow, the others purple); style slender.--Sandy fields; common, especially southward.

4. C. nict.i.tans, L. (WILD SENSITIVE-PLANT.) Leaflets 10--20 pairs, oblong-linear; _flowers (very small) on very short pedicels; anthers 5, nearly equal_; style short.--Sandy fields, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Ind., Kan., and La.

42. HOFFMANSeGGIA, Cav.

Calyx 5-parted. Petals 5, nearly equal, oblong or oval. Stamens 10, distinct, slightly declined; anthers dehiscing longitudinally. Pod flat, oblong, often falcate, few--several-seeded.--Low perennial herbs, or woody at base, punctate with black glands, with bipinnate leaves, and naked racemes of yellow flowers opposite the leaves or terminal. (Named for _Count von Hoffmansegg_, a German botanist.)

1. H. Jamesii, Torr. & Gray. Herbaceous, finely p.u.b.escent; pinnae 2 or 3 pairs with an odd one, the small oblong leaflets 5--9 pairs; pods broad, falcate, 1' long, 2--3-seeded.--Central Kan. to Tex., Ariz., and Mex.

43. GYMNoCLADUS, Lam. KENTUCKY COFFEE-TREE.

Flowers dicious or polygamous, regular. Calyx elongated-tubular below, 5-cleft. Petals 5, oblong, equal, inserted on the summit of the calyx-tube. Stamens 10, distinct, short, inserted with the petals. Pod oblong, flattened, hard, pulpy inside, several seeded. Seeds flattish.--A large tall tree, with rough bark, stout branchlets, not th.o.r.n.y, and large unequally twice-pinnate leaves; the leaflets standing vertically.--Flowers whitish, in terminal racemes. (Name from ?????, _naked_, and ???d??, _a branch_, alluding to the stout branches dest.i.tute of spray.)

1. G. Canadensis, Lam. Leaves 2--3 long, with several large partial leafstalks bearing 7--13 ovate stalked leaflets, the lowest pair with single leaflets; stipules wanting; pod 6--10' long, 2' broad; the seeds over ' across.--Rich woods, western N. Y. and Penn. to Minn., E. Neb., and Ark.

44. GLEDiTSCHIA, L. HONEY-LOCUST.

Flowers polygamous. Calyx short, 3--5-cleft, the lobes spreading. Petals as many as the sepals and equalling them, the 2 lower sometimes united.

Stamens 3--10, distinct, inserted with the petals on the base of the calyx. Pod flat, 1--many-seeded. Seeds flat.--Th.o.r.n.y trees, with abruptly once or twice pinnate leaves, and inconspicuous greenish flowers in small spikes. Thorns above the axils. (Named in honor of _J. G. Gleditsch_, a botanist contemporary with Linnaeus.)

1. G. triacanthos, L. (THREE-THORNED ACACIA, or HONEY-LOCUST.) Thorns stout, often triple or compound; _leaflets lanceolate-oblong_, somewhat serrate; _pods linear, elongated_ (1--1 long), often twisted, filled with sweet pulp between the seeds.--Rich woods, western N. Y. and Penn.

to Ga., west to Mich., E. Neb., Kan., and La. A large tree, common in cultivation, with very hard and heavy wood.

2. G. aquatica, Marsh. (WATER-LOCUST.) Thorns slender, mostly simple; _leaflets ovate or oblong; pods oval, 1-seeded_, pulpless. (G.

monosperma, _Walt._)--Deep swamps, Mo. to S. Ind., S. Car., and southward. A smaller tree, 30--40 high.

45. DESMaNTHUS, Willd.

Flowers perfect or polygamous, regular. Calyx campanulate, 5-toothed.

Petals 5, distinct. Stamens 5 or 10. Pod flat, membranaceous or somewhat coriaceous, several-seeded, 2-valved, smooth.--Herbs, with twice-pinnate leaves of numerous small leaflets, and with one or more glands on the petiole, setaceous stipules, and axillary peduncles bearing a head of small greenish-white flowers. (Name composed of d?sa, _a bond_, and ?????, _flower_.)

1. D. brachlobus, Benth. Nearly glabrous perennial, erect (1--4 high); pinnae 6--15 pairs; leaflets 20--30 pairs; peduncles 1--3' long; stamens 5; pods _numerous in dense globose heads, oblong or lanceolate_, curved, scarcely 1' long, 2--6-seeded.--Prairies and alluvial banks, Ind. and Ky. to Minn., Mo., and Tex.; also in Fla.

2. D. leptolobus, Torr. & Gray. Pinnae 5--8 pairs; leaflets 10--20 pairs; peduncles 1' long or less; heads rather loose, stamens 5; _pods usually few, narrowly linear, erect_, 1--2' long.--Central Kan. to Tex.

46. SCHRaNKIA, Willd. SENSITIVE BRIAR.

Flowers polygamous, regular. Calyx minute, 5-toothed. Petals united into a funnel-form 5-cleft corolla. Stamens 10--12, distinct, or the filaments united at base. Pods long and narrow, rough-p.r.i.c.kly, several-seeded, 4-valved, i.e., the two narrow valves separating on each side from a thickened margin.--Perennial herbs, nearly related to the true Sensitive Plants (Mimosa); the proc.u.mbent stems and petioles recurved-p.r.i.c.kly, with twice-pinnate sensitive leaves of many small leaflets, and axillary peduncles bearing round heads of small rose-colored flowers. (Named for _F. P. Schrank_, a German botanist.)

1. S. uncinata, Willd. p.r.i.c.kles hooked; pinnae 4--6 pairs; _leaflets elliptical, reticulated_ with strong veins beneath; pods oblong-linear, nearly terete-short-pointed, densely p.r.i.c.kly (2' long).--Dry sandy soil, Va. to Fla., west to S. Ill., Kan., and Tex.

2. S. angustata, Torr. & Gray. _Leaflets oblong-linear, scarcely veined_; pods slender, taper-pointed, sparingly p.r.i.c.kly (about 4'

long).--S. Va. (?) to Fla., Tenn., and Tex.