e., by lying along the stem and turning on
their own bases.
In similar situations from New York south and southwestward, the
MILK PEA (Galactia regularis; G. glabella of Gray) lies prostrate
along the ground, the matted, usually branched stems sending up
at regular intervals a raceme of rose-purple flowers in July and
August from the axil of the trefoliate leaf.
TRAILING BUSH CLOVER
(Lespedeza procumbens) Pea family
Flowers - Purplish pink or violet, veined, the butterfly-shaped
ones having standard petal, wings, and keel, clustered at end of
peduncles; the minute flowers lacking a corolla, nearly sessile.
Calyx of 5 slender, nearly equal lobes. Stems: Prostrate,
trailing, or sometimes ascending, woolly or downy, leafy. Leaves:
Clover-like, trefoliate. Fruit: A very small, hairy, flat,
rounded, acute pod.
Preferred Habitat - Dry soil open, sandy places.
Flowering Season - August-September.
Distribution - Massachusetts to the Gulf, and westward to the
Mississippi.
Springing upward from a mass of clover-like leaves, these showy
little blossoms elevate themselves to arrest, not our attention,
but the notice of the passing bee.
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