Kydberg: Notes on Fabaceae — I 179 



Astragalus caespitosus Pallas. On this account Sheldon sub- 

 stituted the name A. spatulatus. In the meantime O. Kuntze 

 had transferred all species of Astragalus to Tragacantha. M. E. 

 Jones* has made A. caespitosus a variety of A. simplicifolius 

 (Nutt.) A. Gray, probably because he did not understand the 

 latter species, which is discussed below. Macbride has followed 

 Jones. 



2. Homalobus brachycarpus Nutt. Gray, Watson, Shel- 

 don, Jones, and Macbride have regarded this as a synonym of 

 H. caespitosus. Nuttall distinguished it by its shorter, broader 

 and more abruptly acute pod and by its smaller size. I take 

 it to be the same as the plant described and figured by Watson 

 in King's Report under the name Astragalus simplicifolius Gray, 

 although the leaves of Nuttall's specimens are narrower than 

 those figured by Watson. Evidently Jones has followed Watson 

 in his interpretation, for he has shown the close relationship 

 between what he called A . simplicifolius and A . caespitosus, and 

 afterwards went so far as to make the latter a variety of A. 

 simplicifolius. The plant described and figured by Watson, 

 however, is not the same as Phaca simplicifolia Nutt.; if it is 

 not H. brachycarpus it is without, a name. The duplicate of 

 Nuttall's type of H. brachycarpus in the Torrey Herbarium 

 strongly resembles Watson's plant but is somewhat taller and 

 has narrower leaves. That in the Gray Herbarium is different 

 and is exactly like the type of H. canescens; it does not agree 

 with the description of H. brachycarpus. The following speci- 

 mens belong to the latter: — 



Wyoming: hills on the Platte, Nuttall; northwestern Wyo- 

 ming, Jones 68; Big Horn Mountains, Tweedy 136; Laramie 

 Plains, 1897, Osterhout; Fort Steele, Tweedy 4193; Pine Bluffs, 

 A. Nelson 2877; Natrona, A. Nelson 142; Laramie, A. Nelson 

 31, 7289; Fort Bridger, Lauderdale. 



Utah: Unitah Mountains, Goodding 1285; Wasatch Moun- 

 tains, Watson 289. 



3. Homalobus simplicifolius (Nutt.) Rydb. There are 

 several points in the original description of Nuttall's Phaca 

 simplicifolia that do not fit Watson 's plant, such as the following : 

 "scapes 1 -2-rlowered, scarcely exserted;" "legumes glabrous, 



* Proc. Calif. Acad. II. 5: 647. 1895. 



