The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States. Asa Gray
perennials, with mostly pinnately 3-foliolate stipellate leaves, and very large flowers. Peduncles 1–3-flowered; bractlets opposite, striate. (Derivation recondite.)
1. C. Mariàna, L. Low, ascending or twining, smooth; leaflets oblong-ovate or ovate-lanceolate; stipules and bracts awl-shaped; peduncles short; the showy pale-blue flowers 2´ long.—Dry banks, N. Y. to Va. and Fla., west to Mo. and Tex.
37. AMPHICARPÆ̀A, Ell. Hog Pea-nut.
Flowers of 2 kinds; those of the racemes from the upper branches perfect, but seldom ripening fruit; those near the base and on filiform creeping branches with the corolla none or rudimentary, and few free stamens, but fruitful. Calyx about equally 4- (rarely 5-) toothed; bractlets none or minute. Keel and wing-petals similar, almost straight; the standard partly folded round them. Stamens diadelphous. Style beardless. Pods of the upper flowers, when formed, somewhat scymetar-shaped, stipitate, 3–4-seeded; of the lower ones commonly subterranean and fleshy, obovate or pear-shaped, ripening usually but one large seed.—Low and slender perennials; the twining stems clothed with brownish hairs. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate; leaflets rhombic-ovate, stipellate. Flowers in simple or compound racemes, purplish. Bracts persistent, round, partly clasping, striate, as well as the stipules. (Name from ἀμφί, both, and καρπός, fruit, in allusion to the two kinds of pods.)
1. A. monòica, Nutt. Leaflets thin, ½–2´ long; racemes nodding; calyx of upper flowers 2´´ long, the ovary glabrous except the hairy margin; pod 1´ long; ovary and pod of the rudimentary flowers hairy.—Rich damp woodlands, common. Aug., Sept.
2. A. Pítcheri, Torr. & Gray. Leaflets usually 2–4´ long; rhachis of the racemes usually villous; calyx 3´´ long, the teeth acuminate; ovary hairy.—Western N. Y. to Ill., Mo., La., and Tex. The upper flowers more commonly fertile; apparently producing subterranean fruit but rarely.
38. GALÁCTIA, 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 γάλα, -ακτος, milk; some species being said to yield a milky juice, which is unlikely.)
1. G. glabélla, 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. pilòsa, Ell. Stems (decumbent and somewhat twining) and leaves beneath soft-downy and hoary; leaflets oval; racemes many-flowered, pods very downy. (G. mollis, Gray, Manual; not Michx.)—Penn. to Fla. and Miss.
39. RHYNCHÒSIA, 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 clustered. (Name from ῥύγχος, a beak, from the shape of the keel.)
1. R. tomentòsa, Hook. & Arn. Trailing and twining, the stem and leaves more or less pubescent 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. erécta, 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. renifórmis, DC. Dwarf and upright, 3–8´ high; pubescence 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. CÉRCIS, 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 clusters 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. Canadénsis, 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. CÁSSIA, 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 chinks at the apex. Pod many-seeded, often with cross partitions.—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. Marilándica, 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. Tòra, 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. occidentàlis, 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 clusters above the axils; pods flat; root annual.
3. C. Chamæcrísta, 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. níctitans, 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. HOFFMANSÉGGIA, 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. Jamèsii, Torr. & Gray. Herbaceous, finely pubescent; pinnæ 2 or 3 pairs with an odd one, the small oblong leaflets 5–9 pairs; pods broad, falcate, 1´ long, 2–3-seeded.—Central