2. L. ochroleùcus, Hook. Stem slender (1--3° high); _stipules semi-cordate, half as large as the thin ovate leaflets_; peduncles 7--10-flowered; _flowers smaller, yellowish-white_.--Hillsides, N. Eng. to Minn., Iowa, and westward.
[*][*] _Tendrils present; stipules narrow, semi-sagittate, acuminate._
[+] _Flowers purple; leaflets several pairs._
3. L. venòsus, Muhl. _Stout_, climbing, usually somewhat downy; stipules very small and mostly slender; _leaflets 4--6 pairs, oblong ovate_, mostly obtuse (about 2´ long); _peduncles many-flowered_; flowers 6--8´´ long.--Shady banks, Penn. to Ga., west to Kan. and Minn.
4. L. palústris, L. _Slender_, glabrous or somewhat pubescent; stem often winged; stipules lanceolate, sharp-pointed at both ends; _leaflets 2--4 pairs, narrowly oblong to linear, acute_ (1--2´ long); _peduncles 2--6-flowered_; flowers 6´´ long.--Moist places, N. Scotia to N. J., and westward across the continent. (Eu.)
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.)