350 LEGXJMlNOSiE. Homalobus. 



1-1 i inch long, thick and coriaceous, somewhat spongy externally and rni- 

 nutely rugose-reticulated. — Allied to P. lotiflora : a very distinct and peculiar 

 species." Nuttall. 



30. P. molliftsimo, CNvitt.l mss.): "very -woolly, cfpspitose, nearly stem- 

 less ; caudex thick, branching above; leaves petiolate; leaflets 4-6 pairs, cu- 

 neate-oblong, obtuse or acutish, sessile ; stipules oblong, membranaceous, 

 distinct; peduncles shorter than the leaves, few- (5-6-) flowered ; calyx tubu- 

 lar, the subulate teeth much shorter than the tube ; legumes extremely woolly, 

 sessile, ovate, pointed, incurved. 



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

 Colorado of the West. May. — A very remarkable species, on account of its 

 dense woolly vesture : the rather large pods appear like a mass of fine yellow- 

 ish-white wool. The flowers are narrow (nearly an inch long), and ochro- 

 leucous, with a purplish spot on the tip of the keel. The calyx is about two- 

 thirds the length of the petals, with a few black hairs intermixed." Nuttall. 



31. P. siinplicifolia (Nutt. ! mss.): "dwarf, very densely ca^spitose. sil- 

 very-canescent, stemless ; caudex much branched above ; leaves crowded in 

 dense tufts, simple, linear or lanceolate, usually involute, acute ; scapes 1-2- 

 flowered. scarcely exserted ; calyx somewhat tubular; the teeth acute, short- 

 er than the tube ; legumes glabrous, coriaceous, sessile, somewhat triquetrous, 

 pointed, scarcely longer than the calyx. 



" Summits of high hills of the Rocky Mountain range, towards the sources 

 of the Platte. — A very singular alpine species, forming dense tufts sometimes 

 a span or two broad, not rising more than an inch or two from the ground. 

 Leaves almost subulate. Stipules very thin and membranous, hairy. Calyx 

 at lentTth nearly glabrous. Flowers ochroleucous : vexillum oblong, reflexed ; 

 the tip of the keel purplish. Legume small, with a rigid point." Nuttall. — 

 This plant has the habit of several species of Mr. Nuttall's genus Homalo- 

 bus. We have not seen the fruit. The leaves, which are very densely ag- 

 gregated, are probably jyhT/llodia^ or perhaps sessile leaflets. 



36. HOMALOBUS. Nutt. mss. 



" Calyx 5-toothed. Keel obtuse. Style short, recurved. Legume linear or 

 oblong much compressed, several-seeded; the sutures neither introflexed nor 

 tumid: funiculi very long. — Perennial herbs with the aspect of Phaca, and 

 nearly the legumes of Vicia. Leaves unequally pinnate, sometunes reduced 

 10 a single leaflet. Racemes axillary or radical." 



^ " The species are all more or less alpine, and chiefly natives of the central table- 

 land or high hills of the Rocky Mountain chain." Mutt. 



* CauTesccnl : leaves pinnate with numerous leaflets, turning blackish in drying, not 

 ricid : racemes usually in pairs: legmnes membranaceous, more or less stipitate. 

 ■ — Ervoidex. 



1. H. dispar (^utL\ mss.): "decumbent, puberulent ; stem somewhat 

 striate nearly glabrous; leaves almost sessile; leaflets 6-10 pairs, linear-ob- 

 long obtuse ; stipules short, ovate, the lower ones united ; racemes many- 

 flowered, loose, almost sessile, scarcely longer than the leaves, often 2-3 to- 

 <Tether; bracts minute, shorter than the pedicels: legumes elliptical-oblong, 

 obtuse flat, somewhat stipitate, the stipe shorter than the calyx. Orobus 

 dispar,' Nutt. gen. 2. ]). 95. O. ? dispar, DC. prodr. 2. p. 3S0. 



" Dry hills around Fort Mandau, Missouri, and on the Platte, to near the 



