4. Vicia Caroliniàna Walt. Carolina Or Pale Vetch

Fig. 2616

Vicia caroliniana Walt. Fl. Car. 182. 1788.

Vicia parviflora Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 69. 1803.

Perennial, glabrous or nearly so, trailing or climbing, slender, 2°-3° long. Stipules linear or oblong, entire, 2" - 3" long; leaves short-petioled; leaflets 8-18, oblong or linear-oblong, entire, obtuse or emarginate, or sometimes acutish and mucronate, 6"-10" long, 1 1/2"-5" wide; peduncles equalling or shorter than the leaves; racemes loosely 8-20-flowered; flowers nearly white, 4"-5" long, the keel bluish-tipped; pod glabrous, 8"-14" long, short-stalked, 5-8-seeded.

River-banks and cliffs, Ontario to Minnesota, south to Georgia, Mississippi and Kansas. Ascends to 3500 feet in Virginia. May-July.

5. Vicia Micràntha Nutt. Small-Flowered Vetch

Fig. 2617

Vicia micrantha Nutt.; T- & G. Fl. N. A. 1: 271. 1838.

Perennial (or sometimes annual?), glabrous, stems very slender, 1°-2° long. Leaflets 2-5 pairs, narrowly linear to linear-oblong, thin, 1/2'-1 1/2' long, 1"-2" wide, obtuse, acutish or emarginate, or those of the lower leaves obo-vate, oval, or even obcordate, usually shorter; peduncles 4"-15" long, 1-2-flowered; flowers 2"-3" long, purplish; pod slightly pubescent or glabrous, about 1' long, 2 1/2" wide, 6-12-seeded; seeds compressed.

On prairies and in thickets, Missouri (?), Arkansas to Tennessee, Alabama and Texas. April-May.

6. Vicia Ludoviciàna Nutt. Louisiana Vetch

Fig. 2618

Vicia ludoviciana Nutt.; T. & G. Fl. N A. 1: 271. 1838.

Perennial, glabrous, or the young parts pubescent; stem rather stout, angled, 1 1/2°-3° long. Leaflets 4 or 5 pairs, elliptic, oval or obovate, thin, 6"-10" long, 2"-4" wide, obtuse or emarginate; stipules very narrow, rarely over 3" long, linear, or half-sagittate; peduncles shorter than the leaves, or about equalling them, or longer, 2-6-flowered (rarely I-flowered); flowers 3"-4" long, bluish; pod 1' long, or rather more, 3"-5" wide, glabrous, 4-6-seeded, the seeds compressed.

Missouri to Texas, Louisiana and Florida. April-May.

7. Vicia Tetraspérma (L.) Moench. Slender Vetch. Smooth Or Lentil Tare

Fig. 2619

Ervum tetraspermum L. Sp. Pl. 738. 1753.

Vicia tetrasperma Moench, Meth. 148. 1794.

Annual, glabrous or nearly so, weak, slender, 6'-24' long. Stipules linear, long-auriculate at the base; leaves short-petioled; leaflets thin, 6-12, linear or linear-oblong, obtuse or acutish, commonly mucronulate, 6"-8" long; peduncles filiform, equalling or shorter than the leaves, 1-6-flowered; flowers pale blue or purplish, 2"-3" long; pod 4"-6' long, glabrous, 3-6-seeded.

In meadows and waste places. Nova Scotia to Ontario, Florida and Mississippi. Guadeloupe. Naturalized from Europe. Native also of northern Asia. June-Sept.