LEGUMINOS^. CXXXI. Astragalus 



265 



i 



f 



pecies, and like it having the petioles permanent, and therefore Gum-hearing Goat's-Thorn. Fl. June, July. Sh. §tol ft. 



jic ;nf/. copf;<^n TrfKTnrnnihhrpi. 162 A. ve'rus (OHv. voy. 3, t. 44.) flowers 2-5-together, 



axillary, sessile ; calyxes tomentose, obtusely 5-toothed; leaves 



falls into section Tragacanthacei. 



h 



Native of the 



having 8-9 pairs of linear hispid leaflets. 



Levant. A. gummifer var. /J, hispidulus, D. C. astr. no. 85. 



stipulas clothed with silky villi, adult ones glabrous. 



Young 



Series III. Tragacantha'cei (from rpayoc, tragos, a goat, 



and uKavBa, akantha^ a spine ; in reference to the similarity of _ ^ 



the species to A. tragacdntha, which is vulgarly called goat's- According to Olivier, a traveller in the Levant, the greater part 



thoru;. D. C. prod. 2. p. 295. Stipulas adnate to the petioles, of the gum-tragacanth which is imported into Europe is obtained 



The petioles are permanent, and at length become hardened from this plant. Tragacanth exudes from it naturally from July 



ipines, to September, either from wounds made in the shrub by animals, 



or from fissures occasioned by the force of the juice during 



§13. Tragacanihce (see series for derivation). 7). C. /. c. the great heats of summer. According as tlie juice is more or 



Petioles permanent^ 

 adnate to the petioles. 



becoming as 



hard 



as 



spines 



of the 



Stipulas less abundant, tragacanth exudes in twisted filaments, which 



sometimes assume the form of a small worm, elongated, rounded, 

 and compressed, rolled up upon itself or twisted. The finest 

 and purest tragacanth assumes this form. It is almost trans- 



It also exudes in large 



This is 



Flowers yellowish. 



TrigvnaRruked Goat's-Thorn. Shrub | to 1 foot. 



15C A. cr\ptoca'rpus (D. C. astr. no. 82.) flowers solitary, 

 axillary, latent ; legumes ovate, hairy, 2-seeded ; leaves having 

 4-G pairs of linear leaflets, which are as well as the stipulas quite 

 glabrous, b . F. Native of Armenia. Trair. orientalis humil- 



155 A.TRiGONus (D. C. astr. no. 81.) flowers axillary, sessile, parent whitish, or of a yellowish white. 

 •olltary, concealed under the stipulas ; legumes trigonal, acumin- tears, which preserve more or less of a vermicular form. 

 ated, hoary from pubescence ; leaflets with 6-7 pairs of leaves, more of a reddish colour, and more contaminated with impuri- 

 vvliich are clothed with hoary wool. ^. F. Native of Egypt. ties. The quantity of tragacanth furnished by Persia is very 



considerable. Much is consumed in that country in the manu- 

 facture of silk, and the preparation of comfits. It is exported 

 to India, Bagdad, and Bussorah. Russia also gets some by way 

 of Bakou. Tragacanth, though generally called a gum, differs 

 very much from gum x\rabic in its properties. It is opaque, 

 white, diflBcultly pulverizable, unless when thoroughly dried, and 

 the mortar heated, or in frost, and it cannot be said to be pro- 

 perly soluble in water, for it absorbs a large quantity of that 

 fluid, and increases in bulk. It is totally insoluble in alcohol. 

 Its mucilage differs from that of gum-Arabic in being precipi- 

 tated by the superacetate of lead and oxymuriate of tin, and not 

 by silicized potass, or the oxymuriate of iron. In pharmacy tra- 

 gacanth is employed for forming powders into troches, and ren- 

 dering them tough cohesive substances, by beating them with 

 mucilage of tragacanth, and then drying the mass. For elec- 

 tuaries it is improper, as it renders them slimy on keeping, 

 is also an improper adjunct to active powders, as it swells up 



• •' -^ ^"- It is a demulcent, and 



limafoliis vicia?, &c. Tourn. cor. 29. 

 Hxddcn-fruHed Goat's-Thorn. 



157 A. Ba'rba Jovis 



Flowers pale yellow ? 

 Shrub ^ foot. 



J (D. C. astr. no. 83.) flowers solitary, 



atent; calyxes 5-parted, very villous ; legumes ovate, glabrous, 

 almost l-celled, 1-2-seeded; leaves having 3-5 pairs of oblong, 

 ^cutc, hoary-tomentose leaflets, b . F. Native of Armenia. 



Tour. cor. 29. Trag- 



to 4 foot. 



Trag. orientalis humillima argentea, &c. 

 acamha argentea. Mill. Corolla purplish ? 



Jyaer s^beard Goat's-Thorn. Shrub ^ .. ^ . 



axffl ^"5^oce'phalus (WiUd. spec. 3. p. 1332.) flowers 



U ^^^l sessile, somewhat capitate ; calyxes woolly, 5-cleft ; 



'eaves having 4 pairs of lanceolate, hoary, mucronate leaflets. on attempting to mix them with water. It is a demulcent, and 



'J-f. Native of Armenia. may answer the purposes of gum-arabic, being better adapted 



It 



SmalUeaded Goat's-Th 



foot. 



for allaying tickling cough, and sheathing the fauces m catarrhal 



15Q A -"Orn. Shrub| . ^ ^ _ 



^i' A. eriocau'los (D. C. astr. no. 84.) flowers -axillary, affection, owing to its great viscidity. 



leaves with 4-5 



lolita 1 ^ • ^' asir. r 



Wirs nf K?^' ''^^^'''^^ "^"«"y lia^% 5-cleft 

 item, u u^ ^^"^^ leaflets, which are woolly, as well as the 

 incan-'s S Native of Armenia. Trag. orientalis foliis 



cream c^f" ^//^"^"^'^ tomentosis, Tourn. cor. 29. Corolla 



]r,u.ii. Legume unknown. 



^loolly.stemmed Goat's-Thorn. SI 



Shrub i to 3 feet. 



True Tragacanth or Goat's-Thorn. 

 1C3 A. seti'ferus (D. C. prod. 2. p. 296.) flowers and leaf- 



ofF the plant ; there are 



h 



Shrub 4 foot. 



lets unknown, but the last fall very 



fascicles of silky bristles, rising from the axils of the spines. 



F. Native of the Levant. This species is hardly known, but 



from the habit it is allied to the preceding plant, but it diflfbrs 



from it in having axillary fascicles of bristles. 

 Bristle-bearing Goat's-Thorn. Shrub ^ foot, 

 164 A. eria'ntiius (VVilld. spec. 3. p. 1332.) flowers axd- 



lary, sessile, aggregate ; calyxes globose, woolly ; leaves with 5 

 •' . oo o .. , « . h.¥. Native of Ar- 



\QQ \ p 7 ^"aia-Aiiorn. onruD f loot. 



I*iher !^* n^^* ^'^"s (Pall. astr. p. 2. t. 2.) flowers 2-3-to- 



villi • 'w" ''^' ^^^^''^ ' calyxes 5-cleft, clothed with woolly 



oblong-line'"^! a^^^^'^^' .4-seeded ; leaves Jiaving 5-7 pairs of 



Ij.jf ^^^'■.'^snets, which are clothed with hoary tomentum. iary, sessiie, iiggicyai-c , v«.j^v,o g.^^v,. 



(Bieb^ r ^"^^ °^ Caucasus, on barren rocks. Flowers white pairs of oblong, acute, glabrous leaflets. 



'^itt ntit/T """^^'^ <^P^"-)' Stipulas when young clothed ' '^ " ' " " "■ 



fl.Uur 2 n 9n?*'^'"' ^"* ^^ length becoming glabrous. Bieb. 



16^T1^^''^'''■'^''*''■"• Fl. June, July. Clt. 1824. Sh.^ft. 



Shrub I foot. 



1331. exclusive of the 



%;fe,) flo 



(Labill. journ. phys. 1790. p. 46. with a 



•^ »re. as w 11 "^"^."^^gether, axillary, sessile ; calyxes 5-cleft, 

 ^ oblonc linl ^^ 1 ^^^""'es, woolly ; leaves having 4-G pairs 

 ^''anon. PI 8l»l>rous leaflets. Tj . F. Native of Mount 



Onn 1:» -•■- -'-guinea, v\0( 



ong-lmear glabrous leaflets. 

 " *«U U in J^^" yellow, rising from the axils of all the leaves 



menia. Petioles yellowish. 



Woolly-Jlorvered Goat's-1 



165 A. BREViFLORUS (D. C. astr. no. 89. t. 31.) flowers axil 

 lary, sessile, somewhat capitate ; calyx 5-cleft, rather longer than 

 the corolla, having woolly, plumose, filiform lobes ; leaves with 

 6-7 pairs of lanceolate villous leaflets. T? . F. Native of Ar- 

 menia. Lodd. bot. cab. 1388. Trag. orienfMis foliis angus- 



A. eriocepnalus, 



""t more 



preceding species, and therefore they appear in 

 a spike. Gum tragacanth flows from this plant, 



D. C. astr. no. 85. ex- 



tissimis, flore purpurascente, Tourn. cor. 29. 

 Willd. spec.3. p. 1333. Flowers purple. 



Var. % glaher (D. C. 1. c.) leaflets longer and glabrous 

 F. Native of Persia. Perhaps a distinct species. 



^ 



^«^^e of C^^^ *^'^" ^'^"^ ^• 



Short-fli 



▼•t.n. 



VCTliS 



synonymeofTournefort! 



flow 



iposed 



M m 



