144 



PEA FAMILY 



herbage dull green and nearly glabrous. Leaflets 9 to 15, 

 thick, obovate or oblong, obtuse, Yi in. or more long. Flowers 

 numerous, in a compact umbel, % to V* m - l° n g> the peduncle 

 shorter than the leaves. Pod thick, 2 to 2j^ in. long. {Lotus 

 crassifolius Greene.) 



Under favorable conditions the sturdy plants of this species 

 appear in abundance, forming miniature thickets. Whether 

 growing thus together or as scattered individuals, they have 

 a clean, wholesome appearance, perhaps due to their smooth 

 herbage and upright habit of growth. Even the pods are full 

 and fat, as though they might yield peas fit for the table. 

 There is reason to suspect, however, that the seeds are poi- 

 sonous. This is a rather common species throughout the 

 Yellow Pine Belt, extending to altitudes of at least 6500 ft. 



Hosackia crassifolia 



Hosackia torreyi 



5. H. torreyi Gray. Meadow Hosackia. Stems often 1 to 

 2 ft, high, mostly glabrous. Leaflets 5 to 11, softly pubescent, 

 narrowly oblong, mostly acute, l /t to % m - long. Flowers l /z 

 in. long, yellow, with white keel and wings, on peduncles 

 which eventually exceed the leaves. Pod flat. (Lotus torreyi 

 Greene.) 



The stems of the Meadow Hosackia are weak and slender 

 but always erect. It grows in moist, grassy places, especially 

 around springs, the parti-colored flowers often forming yel- 

 low-and-white patches of considerable extent. Although con- 

 fined to altitudes of less than about 7000 ft. the species occurs 

 throughout the whole length of the Sierra Nevada and also 

 in the North Coast Ranges. 



