Black Prairie Clover

Parosela laxa Rydberg, sp. nov
A shrub, perhaps 1 m. high; branches glabrous, straw-colored, terete, ascending; leaves 1.5-2 cm. long, spreading; stipules minute, subulate; rachis slightly margined, on the upper side glandular : punctate; stipels gland-like, acute; leaflets more or less cuneate, 4-5 mm. long, slightly retuse, glabrous, glandular-dotted beneath; peduncels terminating the branches,
1 cm. long; spikes slender and lax, 2-4 cm. long; bracts ovate, glabrous, conspicuously glandular-dotted, early deciduous; calyx glabrous, except the ciliolate margin; tube 3 mm. long, strongly 10-ribbed, with a row of oblong, yellow glands in each interval; teeth broadly triangular, with a short subulate tip, 0.5 mm. long and very broad, the sinuses between them rounded; corolla rose-purple or with a yellowish banner; blade of the banner cordate, 4 mm. long, the claw 3 mm. long; wings and keel-petals inserted near the middle of the staminal tube, the blades of the wings 5 mm. long, those of the keel 5 mm. long.
Tvpe collected in the vicinity of Devils River, Texas, October 16, 1913. Rose &• Fitch 17957 (herb. N. Y. Bot. Gard.). Distribution: Texas.

Parosela frutescens (A. Gray) Vail; Rose, Contr. U. S Nat. Herb. 8: 303. 1905.
Dalea frutescens A. Gray, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist. 6: 175. 1850.
A shrub, 3-10 dm. high; branches striate, glabrous, very sparingly glandular-punctate; leaves spreading, 1-2.5 cm. long; stipules setaceous-subulate, 2 mm. long; petiole 5 mm. long; rachis glabrous, slightly margined; leaflets 13-17, glaucousverdigris, glabrous, minutely glandular-punctate beneath, obovate, retuse, 3-8 mm. long; peduncles terminating the branches, 1-5 cm. long, glabrous; spikes at first subcapitate, dense, about I cm. long; bracts ovate, acute, conspicuously glandular-punctate ; calyx-tube turbinate, 3 mm. long, with conspicuous orange glands between the 10 strong ribs; lobes triangular, with short subulate tips, villous-ciliate on the margins; corolla purple; blade of the banner cordate, nearly 5 mm. long, the claw 3 mm. long; blades of the other petals 6 mm. long, the claws 1.5 mm. long; pod broadly obliquely obovate, glabrous, conspicuously glandular-punctate.
Type locality: On the Guadalupe, Texas.
Distribution: Texas and New Mexico to Chihuahua and Nuevo Le6n.

Perennial, Shrubs, Woody throughout, Stems woody below, or from woody crown or caudex, Taproot present, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems less than 1 m tall, Plants gland-dotted or with gland-tipped hairs, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs glabrous or sparsely glabrate, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules inconspicuous, absent, or caducous, Stipules setiform, subulate or acicular, Stipules deciduous, Stipules free, Leaves compound, Leaves odd pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets 5-9, Leaflets 10-many, Leaves glandular punctate or gland-dotted, Leaves glabrous or nearly so, Inflorescences spikes or spike-like, Inflorescence terminal, Bracts conspicuously present, Bracteoles present, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx glabrous, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals white, Petals blue, lavander to purple, or violet, Petals bicolored or with red, purple or yellow streaks or spots, Banner petal narrow or oblanceolate, Banner petal ovoid or obovate, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel tips obtuse or rounded, not beaked, Stamens 9-10, Stamens monadelphous, united below, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Fruit a legume, Fruit unilocular, Fruit indehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit enclosed in calyx, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit 1-seeded, Seeds reniform, Seeds cordiform, mit-shaped, notched at one end, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.