PEAS, BEANS, AND LICORICE

Only a botanist would know that behind that temptingly quixotic title is the legume family from (pea) soup to (pea)nuts and ornamental plants. All bear their seeds in debiscent pods -- meaning that they ""gape or burst open"" (debiscent pods in other plant families that open differently are illustrated also); while their flowers are structurally similar to e.g. the apple blossom, they are irregularly shaped. So much for family traits, the balance (and bulk) consisting of introductions to forty-odd members. In each case physical characteristics, distinguishing features and common -- or uncommon -- uses are noted. Here and there some odd fact crops up (e.g. the word lens comes from the convex shape of the lentil); but by and large, however different the plants, the entries vary only in detail. Having neither the impact nor the carry-over of the Selsam plant studies, this is chiefly a catalog to consult on specifics -- and for that purpose everything from Alfalfa to Wisteria is indexed and illustrated.