lower pairs diftant, upper ones almoft imbricate. At the bafe 

 of the leaves are lanceolate ere£t imbricate ftipules. From 

 fome of the figures of this plant, it appears that thefe ftipules 

 cover a branched ftalk for fome extent above the ground be- 

 fore the leaves are thrown out, but as cultivated the leaves 

 iffue clofe to the ground. Scape about the length of the 

 leaves, very hairy, three or four inches high, bearing a fhort 

 loofe head of flowers of a reddifh purple, when they firft 

 appear, but foon changing blue. Peduncles very fhort, each 

 furniflied with a fmall membranous, awl-fhaped, hairy, per- 

 filtent bratle, not half the length of the Calyx, which is tubular : 

 limb five-cleft: two upper fegments fhorter, diftant: three 

 lower longer and approximate. Cor. vexillum ovate-emargi- 

 nate, fides reflected, ftriped : alse one-half fhorter than vexil- 

 lum, fupported from near the middle on a filiform claw. Carina 

 ftill fhorter, undivided. Stamens diadelphous. Germen flipi- 

 tate : Sligma acute. Our plant produced no pods ; but, ac- 

 cording to Villars, who certainly defcribes the fame fpecies, 

 thefe are inflated, villous at firft, but afterwards often fmooth, 

 always pendulous. In fome of the figures and defcriptions 

 above quoted the pods are ereft, in others pendulous ; in 

 fome cylindrical, in others inflated ; which would lead to the 

 fufpicion that the fynonyms were not quite correft ; but it 

 may be obferved, that they are at firft ereft, and when mature 

 pendulous, as we obferve from the fpecimens in the Bankfian 

 Herbarium. 



Decandolle in his Aflragalogia (vide Annals of Botany, 

 V. i. p. 23) has attempted a feparation of this immenfe genus 

 into feveral, and called the divifion to which this belongs 

 Oxyiropis, from the fharp-pointed carina. 



A native of moft of the Alps of the South of Europe ; but, 

 as Pallas has remarked, is no where found in Siberia, 

 though the moft fruitful in Aftragali of any country in the 

 world. 



Our drawing was made from a plant fentus by Mr. Loddiges, 

 of Hackney. 



