LEGUMXNOSiE. 122 ASTRAGALUS.- 



IG. A'RACHIS. 

 Calyx 2-lipped; corolla resupinate; filaments united; le- 

 gume gibbous, torulose, veiny, coriaceous. 



An ancient Lat. name of a subterranean plant. 



A. hypog^'a. 



Leaves in 4s, cuneate, rounded; stipvh.s undivided; stem nearly smooth. 

 Native of S. America. As tlie pods increase in size, they force themselves 

 into the ground, and there ripen their seeds. Hence the specific name, which 

 signifies under ground. In Carolina the seeds are used as chocolate. Plant 

 2 feet high. Flowers yellow. May. Jn. I'er. Pea JS'ut. 



17. BAPTI'SIA. 



Petals of nearly equal length; calyx 4 — 5-cleft half way;- 

 legume inflated, many-seeded. 



Gr. /iciTrrco, to dye; a use to which some species are applied. Cal. 4 — 5- 

 cleft, sub-bilabiate, persistent. Sta. deciduous. Ova. stiped. Legumes often 

 few-seeded by abortion. — Perennial herbs. 



B. tincto'ria. 



Leaves tern ate, stalked; leaflets roundish, obovate ; stipules seiaceons, obso- 

 lete. A common plant, very glabrous, and much branched, 2 or 3 feet high. 

 Leaflets on short petioles, in" 3s, tapering to a point at the base. Stipules very 

 sliort. Flowers yellow, in loose, terminal racemes. Legumes short, round- 

 ish, long-stiped. The leaves become black in drying. Woods and dry soils. 

 July. Per. If't^d Indigo. 



18. P H A C A . 



Calyx 5-toothed; keel obtuse; legume turgid, 1-cclled; 



placenta swelling. 



Gr. (pcix.r)j lentil, derived from (petyo), to eat. Two upper teeth of cal. often 

 divaricate. — Perennial herbs. Fls. in a.xiUary racemes. 



P. negle'cta. t.^- O. 



Erect, branching, nearly smooth ; leaflets elliptical, 11 — 17 ; slipvles minute ; 

 racemes many-flowered, rather loose ; legume sessile, smooth, roundish-ovate, 

 much inflated, with a deep groove at the ventral suture. Western N. Y., by 

 streams and lakes. A plant about 2 feet high, resembling the Astragalus 

 Canadensis, but more slender and delicate. Flowers white. Seeds small and 

 numerous. June. July. 



19. ASTRA'GALUS. 



Calyx 5-toothcd; keel of corolla obtuse; legume with a 

 longitudinal, lialf-breadth partition attached to one edge. 



A Greek name of uncertain application. Cal. tubular, lower toothlets grad- 

 \ially less. Cor. papil. Vex. larger than the other pet., cmarginate, obtuse, 

 straight. Wings length of keel. Ova. subcolumnar. — Herbaceous or iialf- 

 shrubby, more or less canescent, with hairs fi.xed in the middle. Leaflets nu- 

 merous, with an odd one. 



