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.
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.