nate ; peduncles 3-5-flowered; legumes broadly ( inear, compressed, acuminate,
pubescent. Hook;—Linn. sp. p. 1034 ; Eng. bot. t. 169 ; Michx.! ji.
2. p. 66 ; Pursh, Ji. 2. p. 471; Bigel. Ji. Bost. p. 209; DC. 1. c. ; Hook. !
Ji. Bor.-Am. 1. p. 161.
a. glabrous; lateral and inferior segments of the calyx lanceolate (the
inferior one narrowest), about the length of the tube; peduncles equalling or
exceeding the leaves; leaflets 3-4 pairs, varying from lanceolate to narrowly
elliptical.
/?. glabrous, rather flaccid ; lateral and inferior segments of the calyx linear-
suhulate, longer than the tube.—L. occidentalis. Nutt.! mss.
r. glabrous ; lateral segments of the calyx oblong, obtuse, shorter than the
tube.
1. glabrous; lateral segments of the calyx triangular-subulate, much shorter
than the tube; stipules minute, linear-subulate.
c. minutely pubescent; lateral segments of the calyx triangular-oblong, obtuse,
much shorter than the tube; leaflets 4-5 pairs, rigid ; stem scarcely
winged.
g. finely pubescent; lateral and inferior segments of the calyx narrowly
triangular-lanceolate, very acute, shorter than the tube ; peduncles 3-lQ-flow-
ered.—L. hydrophilus, Nutt. ! mss.
v. pubescent; lateral and inferior segments of the calyx linear-lanceolate or
linear, very acute, as long as the tube; leaflets elliptical; stipules much larger,
oblong.
Swampy places and along streams, Canada ! (lat. 55°) to Pennsylvania !'
west to Oregon. /?. mouth of the Oregon, Nu tta ll! S. Saskatchawan River,
ex Hook.! c. California, Douglas ! g. Marshes, Massachusetts, Mr.
Oakes! Western part of New-York ! jj. Dry soil, Quoddy Head, Maine,
Mr. Oakes ! July-Aug.—Flowers rather large, bright purple.
8. L. vestitus (Nutt.! mss.) : “ erect and rigid or a little climbing, silky-
canescent; leaflets 5-7-pairs, small, elliptical or oval, cuspidate; tendrils
mostly pinnated; stipules broadly semisagittate, acuminate, slightly toothed
below, about the size of the leaflets; racemes about the length of the leaves,
4- 6-flowered; flowers large, purple; lower segments of the calyx narrowly lanceolate,
acuminate, rather longer than the tube •; legume flat, pubescent, attenuate
at each end; style villous along the inside for about one-third its length.
“ Plains of the Oregon towards the sea. June.—A very distinct species,
a foot or more high, clothed with an appressed silky pubescence, except the
upper surface of the leaves, which is nearly glabrous. Stem erect in open
places, decumbent in shady situations. Leaflets half an inch or a little more
in length, and 2-3 lines wide. Calyx attenuate at the base.” Nuttall.
9. L. strictus (Nutt, mss.) : “pubescent,rather rigid ; stem slender, angled;
leaflets 2-5 pairs, linear, acute; tendrils bifid; stipules semicordate, acuminate,
serrate ; peduncle about 4-flowered, longer than the leaf ; flowers large ;
lower segments of the calyx acuminate, as long as or longer than the tube.
“ Bushy places around St.Diego, California. April.—A small species, nearly
allied to the preceding, of which it may perhaps be only a variety. Leaflets
remote, about 1-2 lines wide.” Nuttall.—This species we have not seen.
10. L. linearis (Nutt.! mss.) : “ nearly glabrous; stem decumbent, slender
angled ; leaves nearly sessile; leaflets 5-6 pairs, narrowly linear, mostly
obtuse apiculaje, rigid; tendrils short, simple or bifid; stipules small, lanceolate’
semisagittate, laciniate-toothed or incised below; peduncles 3-4-
flowered, shorter than the leaves; flowers rather large, pale purple; segments
of the calyx triangular-subulate, shorter than the tube ; legume attenuated at
each end; style nearly filiform, villous all round at the summit.
“ Plains of the Platte.. April.—A low decumbent species. Leaflets an
inch or more long, and about half a line wide. Stipules with 2-5 very sharp
slender teeth. Flowers pale, the tip of the keel deep purple. [Corolla about
§ of an inch in length, but very narrow, 4 times longer than the calyx.]—
More of a Vicia than a Lathyrus ; but in habit, &c. this and the succeeding
species are inseparable from the following species.” Nuttall.
11. L. dissitifolius (Nutt, mss.) : “ somewhat pubescent, climbing; leaflets
4-6 pairs, narrowly linear, rather obtuse, apiculate, scattered, the petiole thick
and channelled, terminating in a pinnatifid tendril; stipules linear, semisagittate,
entire; peduncles 4-6-flowered, much shorter than the leaves; segments
of the calyx short, the uppermost obtuse.
“ With the preceding, to which it is nearly allied ; but with a long weak
scandent stem and smaller entire stipules. Flowers smaller, pale purple.
Stigma flattish, villous all round.” . Nuttall.—We have seen no specimen of
this plant; but we fear it is not sufficiently distinct from the preceding. In
our specimen of L. linearis, the leaflets are more or less scattered (as is very
common in the genus), and the stipules occasionally have only one or two
teeth.
12. L. ornatus (Nutt. ! mss.): “ erect, glabrous, often glaucous; stem
quadrangular; leaflets 3-4 pairs, lanceolate-linear, rather acute, mucronate,
rigid and strongly veined, tendril scarcely any; stipules linear-lanceolate and
slender, semisagittate, entire; peduncles about 4- [o r 6- 8- ] flowered,
much longer than the leaves; flowers very large, purple; segments of the
calyx subulate, slightly unequal, rather shorter than the tube; legume sn coth
and flat, acuminate at each end, about 10-seeded; style minutely pubescent
along the upper side.”—L. polymorphus, Torr. ! in ann. lyc. New- York, 2.
p. 180, excl. syn.
Kamassa prairies, common, Nuttall! On the Missouri and Platte, Dr.
James ! May-June.—Scarcely a foot high, sometimes branched. “ Root
long and black”, Nutt. Petioles very short, terminated with a small bristle.
Leaflets an inch or more in length, 1-2 lines wide. Stipules almost subulate,
resembling the leaflets, § of an inch in length. Flowers very showy, an
inch long (as large as those of the cultivated Sweet Pea, A utt.), the vexil-
lum and wings broad. Calyx very small. The immature pods, in the specimen
of Dr. James, are about 2 inches long, and nearly half an inch wide,
reticulated, tapering below into a distinct stipe. The seeds, according to
Dr. James, are as large as the Common Pea.—This species and L. polymorphus
are (as the genera are characterized) rather species of Orohus than of
Lathyrus : they are clearly congeners of O. varius, O. albus, and others of the
same section; but on the other hand they can hardly be separated with propriety
from L. linearis, Nutt., which has tendrils and more the. habit of the
present genus. The pubescence of the style in the species of Orobus we
have examined is the same as in Lathyrus.
13. L. polymorphus (Nutt.) : mostly glabrous ; stem erect, a little woody
at the base, much branched; branches quadrangular; leaflets 2-5 pairs
(mostly scattered), elliptical-lanceolate or linear-oblong, somewhat glaucous,
rigid and very strongly veined ; petioles terminated by a small bristle ; stipules
lanceolate, subfalcate, minutely semisagittate at the base; peduncles
3-5-flowered, a little longer than the leaves ; flowers very large, purple ; segments
of the calyx lanceolate-subulate, somewhat unequal, nearly as long as
the tube; legumes . . . —Nutt. gen. 2. p. 97; DC. prodr. 2. p. 371. L.
decaphyllus, Pursh, fl. 2. p. 471, not of Hook. Vicia stipulacea, Pursh !
1. c. suppl. 2. p. 739.
Grassy alluvial plains of the Missouri, Nuttall, Bradbury ! Dr. James !
June.—Stems short. Leaves crowded, especially on the lower part of the
stem ; the lowermost 2-4-foliolate, the upper 6- 10-foliolate. Leaflets 1—2J inches
long, variable in width, mostly obtuse at each end, mucronate, strongly
longitudinally veined. Stipules very variable in size, very acute, sometimes