Phaca. LEGUMlNOSiT:. 349 



26. P. hisidcata (Hook.): minutely pubescent; stem stout, striate, as- 

 cendin<T or erect ; leaves nearly sessile ; leaflets 11-13 pairs, elli])tical, some- 

 what petiolulate, clothed beneath -with minute appressed hairs ; stitiules ovate- 

 lanceolate, acute, distinct; racemes pedunculate, spicate. closely-tiowered, 

 much elonajated ; the flowers nodding (purj)le) ; legumes linear, nearly cy- 

 lindrical, stipitate, at length glabrous, nodding, with a deep furrow on each 

 side of the superior suture. — Ilonk. f. JJar.-Am. 1. p. 145. 



Plains of the Saskatchawan, DnnnmomI ; and near the northern sources 

 of the Platte, Nnitull ! — A large and showy species: the stem 1-3 feet high, 

 scarcely branched ; the racemes, including the peduncle, at length G-10 inch- 

 es long ; with large, crowded, rich purple flowers. Legumes nearly an inch 

 long, somewhat terete, narrow, between membranaceous and cartilaginous, on 

 a stipe about the length of the calyx, 5-6-seeded, with 2 deep furrows on the 

 upper side, one each side of the suture, which is not at all introflcxed. 



+ t Flowers ochroleucous. 



27. P. viUosa (Nutt.) : very hirsute ; stem short, procumbent ; leaves sub- 

 sessUe ; leaflets 4-8 pairs, rather distant, oval, oblong, or obovate, petiolulate, 

 nearly glabrous above ; stipules lanceolate, foliaceous ; racemes somewhat 

 capitate, 8-20-flowered, on peduncles shorter or sometimes a little longer 

 than the leaves ; segments of the calyx linear-subulate, longer than the tube; 

 legumes very densely villous with white hairs, sessile, inflated, oblong, acute, 

 subtriangular, arcuate. — Nutt. ! gen. 2. p. 97 ; Ell. sk. 2. p. 220; DC. prodr. 

 2. p. 274. Astragalus villosus, Mich.r. ! fi. 2. p. 67 ; Pur.^h,Jl. 2. p. 473. 



Dry sandy soils and pine forests, S. Carolina ! to Florida ! and on the 

 Missouri to near its sources, Nuttall. April-May.— Plant 4-6 inches high; 

 the ascending stems short or sometimes almost none. Leaflets 3-4 lines 

 long, sometimes emarginate. Head of flowers close, on a long peduncle 

 which sometimes exceeds the leaves: bracts lanceolate-subulate, somewhat 

 persistent. Legumes rather erect, 8-lU lines long, 10-14-seeded, the lower 

 suture a little introflcxed. 



28. P. loti flora (Hook.): canescenlly hairy ; stems numerous from one root, 

 very short, diffuse; leaves on rather long petioles; leaflets 4-6 pairs, rather 

 distant, oblong, obtuse, sessile, at length almost glabrous above ; stipules 

 ovate, acuminate ; raceme capitate, 3-9-flowered, on peduncles shorter or 

 sometimes longer than the leaves (flowers smafl) ; teeth of the calyx subulate, 

 longer than the tube and somewhat shorter than the petals; legumes canes- 

 cent, sessile, semi-ovate, pointed. — Astragalus ? (an Phaca ?)lotiflorus, Hook, 

 fl. Bar:- Am. 1. p. 153. 



On the Saskatchawan, Drummond ; and Rocky Mountains, Nuttall! — 

 Plant 3-4 inches high : stems short or almost none, crowded. Bracts subu- 

 late, persistent. Flowers about half the si/e of those of P. villosa, to which 

 it is aUied, as remarked by Hooker. — Mr. Nuttall, having obtained specimens 

 in fruit, has confirmed Hooker's opinion that the plant belongs to this genus. 

 The legumes are about half an inch in length, turgid, straight along the up- 

 per suture, the lower much curved. 



29. P. pygmcBa (Nutt. ! mss.) : " silvery-canescent, nearly stemless ; 

 leaves on rather long petioles ; leaflets 3-5 pairs, broadly oval or obovate, ses- 

 sile ; peduncles about the length of the leaves, few-flowered ; calyx tubular, 

 clothed with appressed white and black hairs intermixed, the teeth very short 

 and acute ; legumes (large) puberulent, sessile, ovate-oblong, terete, some- 

 what arcuate, pointed ; seeds rugosely punctate. 



" Rocky Mountains, on the hills of ' Ham's Fork ' of the Colorado of the 

 West. — Plant 2-3 inches high: root thick, somewhat fusiform. Leaves 1-2 

 inches long : leaflets small. Legumes very large for the size of the plant, 



