198 
18 ARGOPHYLLI. 
Pods 1-celled, with dorsal suture not raised within except a 
little in A. cibarius and forms of Missouriensis and desperatus, 
round to obcompressed and rarely triquetrous in cross-section, 
mostly ovate to lanceolate in longitudinal-section, with upcurved 
tip and ventral suture straight or concave, the dorsal suture very 
convex, the body being oblique to arcuate, raraly both sutures 
are nearly equally convex and so the pod is nearly symmetrical, 
pod sessile or only shortly stipitate, mostly rounded below and 
splitting the calyx, but conspicuously tapering in A. iodanthus 
and amphioxys, often cordate at base, 1-5 cm. long (5-8 mm. iu 
A. lectulus), normally 2-2.5 em, long, a little inflated only in 
some shaggy-podded forms, and alittle soin A. Zionis, desperatus 
and tephrodes, fleshy when fresh but the walls rarely 4 mm, wide, 
generally cartilaginous when dry, wrinkled, and inclined to have 
the sutures (whieh are denser) raised externally and rather sharp 
on the edge when dry but not raised when fresh, very weakly at- 
tached to the calyx and separating from it readily, rarely sulcate, 
ascending (reflexed in A, desperatus), not opening much at ma- 
turity and then at tip and along the ventral suture, triangular- 
acute at tip, shortly racemose. Flowers 1 cm. long (rarely 5 mm. 
long in A. desperatus) or more, mostly large and pink-purple, 
rarely white or red. Calyx tube cylindrical, but somewhat later- 
ally flattened, with teeth never over half the tube (rarely longer 
in A. desperatus) and mostly much shorter. Pedicels short, gen- 
erally much shorter than the rather large bracts. Peduncles 
mostly not longer than the leaves. Upper leaves the largest, pet- 
ioled (except in forms of A. inflexus). Leaflets never linear nor 
conspicuously fleshy, flat, always jointed to the rachis, Stip- 
ules large (rather small in the Missouriensis group). never con- 
nate, adnate, ovate to triangular-subulate or wider. Stems cespi- 
tose, perennial (A. amphioxys and desperatus bloom the first 
year), short, prostrate below, often nearly acaulescent. from a 
thick and often woody root, with the lower internodes very short 
and stipules often imbricated. Plants rarely 4 dm. long, mostly 
silvery-pubescent (nearly smooth in A. cibarius and iodanthus), 
of the Lower Temperate life zone, rarely touching the edges of 
bes adjoining zones, blooming in spring and fruiting in May and 
une. 
KEY i 
A. Pods never evidently woolly nor shaggy Einikept in A. desperatus, 
; appressed. = $ E 
AB. Peds not: nor conspicuously cellular when dry (except 
in A. ‘Shortianus) Boc With the comme PALEMIA ting une, Le 
Pubescence when present loosely 
