Contributions to Western Botany. 3 



evident inner membrane a little produced; flowers golden yel- 

 low, 4 lines long; flower buds elliptical. Whole plant glabrous. 

 Stems very many. Seeds the same as in the type species. 

 Darwin Cal. on mesas, 4000 ft. altitude, April 28, 1897. 



It has been the good fortune of the writer to see nearly all 

 the types of North American Astragali during the past year, which 

 enables him to make a number of corrections which are given 

 below, mostly as to species recently described. 



Astragalus lentiginosus Dougl. Hook. Fl. Bor. Am. i 151 has 

 for a synonym A cnspidocarpus Sheldon Minn. Bot. Stud. Bull, 

 ix 147. A diaphanus Dougl. Hook. Fl. Bor. Am. i 151 is only 

 a young state of the same. Neither deserves varietal rank. 



Astragalus lentiginosus Dougl. var. floribundus Gray 

 Proc. Am. Acad, vi 194 has A. ineptus Gray Proc. Am. 

 Acad, vii 525 as a synonym. This is not typical lentiginosus, 

 but a well marked variety and intergrading at all points. It 

 includes all forms with long and prostrate stems, short pedun- 

 cles, and ovate to oval, thin, and papery pods. This does not 

 include A. lentiginosus Dougl. var. latus Jones Cont. vii 675 

 which can be kept up with the original character as given in 

 Zoe iv 272 and Zoe iii 287. A sal/ims Howell Erythea i 111 

 js for the most part the variety floribundus. 



Astragalus lentiginosus Dougl. var Borreganus. Rather 

 slender, annual, erect, about a foot high, hoary throughout; 

 flowers and fruits racemose; peduncle with rachis slender and 

 longer than the leaves; pods from ascending to a little reflexed 

 lanceolate, little inflated, an inch long, slightly arched, very 

 acute, wholly 2-celled; flowers purple, about 4 lines long, nar- 

 row; calyx cylindrical and with short teeth; leaflets 6 to 8 pairs, 

 -obovate, emarginate, 4 lines or less long. Collected at Borregos 

 Springs, Southeastern California, by Orcutt. 



Astragalus lentiginosus Dougl. var Yuccanus. At least 

 the stems hoary and ascending to erect, often 2 feet high; 

 pods glabrous, membranous, ovate, about an inch long, greatly 

 inflated, on long and erect peduncles, wholly 2- celled and didy- 

 mous; flowers many, spicate, erect, white or whitish; calyx 

 cylindrical, tube narrow, 5 lines long, teeth short; early pe_ 



