Var. myrtifòlius, Gray. Stipules usually broader and larger; leaflets ovate to oblong (1´ long or less).—Same range, and extending south to N. C.
[+][+] Flowers yellow; leaflets a single pair.
L. pratènsis, L. Low and straggling; leaflets narrowly lanceolate to linear, acute; peduncles several-flowered.—Spontaneous in Mass., N. Y., and Ont. (Nat. from Eu.)
[*][*][*] Tendrils usually wanting; low, mostly erect; stipules semi-sagittate; flowers very large, purple; pod stipitate in the calyx.
5. L. polymórphus, Nutt. Leaflets 3–6 pairs, narrowly oblong to linear, thick and strongly nerved, 1–2´ long; seeds with a narrow footstalk and short hilum.—Mo., Kan., and westward.
6. L. ornàtus, Nutt. Like the last, but leaflets always narrow, 3–12´´ long; seeds with a very broad footstalk and long hilum.—Kan. to Col. and Dak. Scarcely 1° high.
32. ÁPIOS, Boerhaave. Ground-nut. Wild Bean.
Calyx somewhat 2-lipped, the 2 lateral teeth being nearly obsolete, the upper very short, the lower one longest. Standard very broad, reflexed; the long scythe-shaped keel strongly incurved, at length coiled. Stamens diadelphous. Pod straight or slightly curved, linear, elongated, thickish, many-seeded.—A perennial herb (with some milky juice!), twining and climbing over bushes, and bearing edible tubers on underground shoots. Leaflets 3–7, ovate-lanceolate, obscurely stipellate. Flowers in dense and short, often branching racemes. (Name from ἄπιον, a pear, from the shape of the tubers.)
1. A. tuberòsa, Moench. Flowers brown-purple or chocolate-color, violet-scented.—Low grounds, N. Brunswick to Fla., west to Minn., Kan., and La.
33. PHASÈOLUS, Tourn. Kidney Bean.