FABACEJE, OR LEGUMINOS^. 



rather longer than the wings ; wings stipitate, auricled at the base of 

 the limb ; keel obtuse, shorter than the wings. Ovary villous, style 

 straight. Legumes woolly, inflated, flattened on the upper edge, ending 

 in a mucro recurved downwards. DC. — Labillardiere reported that 

 this produces Gum Tragacanth on Lebanon ; but it is found that its gum 

 is white and more transparent than that of commerce ; neither does it 

 dissolve so well in water, and therefore is inferior in quality. It now 

 appears upon the testimony of Olivier that the gum of commerce is ob- 

 tained from A. verus. 



512. A. Tragacantha Linn. sp. pi. 1073, which is A. massi- 

 liensis Lam. diet, ii. 320, is said by De Candolle to yield no 

 Tragacanth. 



513. A. creticus Lam. diet. i. 321. DC. astr. n. 91. t. 33. — 

 Candia, on Mount Ida. 



Leaflets 10-16, oblong, acute, downy; petioles permanent, spiny. 

 Flowers streaked, purple, axillary, sessile, clustered. Calyx 5-parted 

 with feathery setaceous lobes rather longer than the corolla. — A small 

 quantity of Tragacanth is furnished by this species ; M. Th. Martius 

 thinks it is the sort that is received in the form of threads or slender 

 strips ; while he ascribes the cake Tragacanth to A. verus. 



CORONILLA. 



Calyx campanulate, short, 5-toothed ; the superior teeth ap- 

 proximated and partially united. Claws of the petals distinctly 

 longer than the calyx ; keel acute. Stamens diadelphous. Le- 

 gume tapering, slender, finally separating into oblong 1 -seeded 

 joints. Seeds ovate or cylindrical. — Shrubs or herbaceous 

 plants. Leaves unequally pinnated. Peduncles axillary, bearing 

 an umbel of stalked flowers. DC. 



514. C. EmerusZmw. sp. pi. 1046. Willd.m. 1149. DC. 

 prodr. ii. 309. {Hall. helv. 389. Mill, diet. ic. t. 132. f. 1.) — 



Common all over the South of Europe. (Scorpion Senna). 



A small bush. Branches deep green, strongly furrowed, quite 

 smooth. Leaflets 2-3 pairs, obovate, retuse or obtuse, when young 

 rather downy ; stipules ovate, acute, very much shorter than the first 

 joint of the "petiole. Peduncles axillary, 2-3-flowered, slender, erect, 

 as long as the leaves. Calyx slightly downy, only half the length of 

 the claws of the petals. Corolla deep bright yellow. Legume a long 

 while before its joints drop in pieces. — Leaves cathartic like those of 

 Senna, but less active. 



515. C. varia Linn. sp. 1048. Crantz aitstr. t. 432. Willd. 

 iii. 1153. DC. prodr. ii. 310. Bot. Mag. t. 258. — (Clus. hist. 

 ii. 237. f. 2.) — Meadows and waste places of the south of 

 Europe and the Crimea. 



A smooth, spreading herbaceous plant. Leaflets 9-13, oblong, mu- 

 cronate; the lowest close to the stem; stipules very small, acute. 

 Umbels 16-20-flowered. Legumes erect. — Leaves diuretic and ca- 

 thartic. Juice said to be even poisonous. 



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