DECANDRIA. MONOGTNIA. 283 



^ lary branches after flowering. Lower stipules roundish 

 and nearly as large as the leaves, common petiole nearlv 

 an inch long, exceeding the stipules in length; leaves 

 about an inch long, and 1-2 an inch wide, scarcely obtuse, 

 slenderly villous on the under side, smooth above, raceme 

 subsessile, short and terminal, 3 or 4 inches long, few 

 flowered; pedicells subverticillately aggregated; flowers 

 yellow.f stamina deciduous, at least in the fruit, the car- 

 tilaginous cupulate torus alone persistent. Legume com- 

 pressed, falcate, about 3 inches in length, here and there 

 interrupted by abortive portions, but not articulated or 

 intercepted, terminated by the persistent filiform style, 

 with a minute and smooth stigma. — Hab. On denudated 

 argillaceous hills near Fort Mandan. This plant is very 

 closely allied to Sophora Iv.pimides of Pallas, Thermopsis 

 lanceolata of Brown, and they appear inseparable in ge- 

 nus, that species when in perfection produces a long ver- 

 ticillated spike of flowers; some of Pallas's specimens, 

 however, in the herbarium of A. B. Lambert, Esq. have 

 a single verticill of flowers only as in the starved speci- 

 men figured in the Botanical jMagazine, in this species 

 the leaves are on both sides closely covered with a silky 

 villous; the primary leaves it appears occur sometimes 

 simple but always accompanied by the stipules after the 

 manner of Baptisia- 



402. CERCIS. L. (Judas-tree, Red-bud.) 

 Calix 5 -toothed, the lower part gibbous. 



Corolla papilionaceous, lateral petals or wings 

 larger than the vexillum; carina dipetalous. 

 Legume compressed. " Seminiferous suture 

 marginated. Seeds obovatc." — Brown. 



Small trees with simple orbicularly cordate leaves; flow- 

 ers disposed in clusters upon the trunk and branches, 

 purple, appearing before the leaves. 



Species. 1. C canadensis.— Oi' this genus there is 

 another species indigenous to the south of Europe. 



403. VIRGILIA. Lamark. Pcrsoon, R, Brown. 

 Calix 5-cleft. Corolla papilionaceous, petals 



nearly equal in length; sides ot* the vexillum not 



t This plant is noticed in the travels of Lewis and Clarke, as 

 flowering early, and attracted attention soon after they left the 

 Mandans in the spring. 



