LEGUMINOS^. (pulse FAMILY.) 135 



I. Pod turcjid, completely or imperfecthj 2-celled hij the intrusion of the dorsal 

 suture, the ventral suture being not at all or less deeply itijiexed. — Astra- 

 galus proper. 



* Pod plum-shaped, succulent, becoming thick and Jleshg, indehiscent, not stipi- 



tate, completely 2-celled. 



1. A. caryoearpus, Ker. (Ground Plum.) Pale and minutely ap- 

 pressed-pubeseent ; leatiets narrowly oblong; flowers in a short spike-like 

 raceme ; corolla, violet-purple ; fruit glabrous, ovate-globular, more or less pointed _ 

 about '^' in diameter, very thick-walled, cellular or corky when dry. — Sask. 

 and Minn, to Mo., Col., and Tex. May. 



2. A. Mexicanus, A. DC. Smoother, or pubescent with looser hairs, 

 larger; leatiets roundish, obovate, or oblong; flowers larger (10- 12" long) ; 

 calyx softly hairy ; corolla cream-color, bluish only at the tip : fruit globular, very 

 obtuse and pointless, 1' or more in diameter; otherwise like the last. — Prai- 

 ries and open plains. 111. to Kan., south to Tex. The unripe fruits of both 

 resemble green plums — whence the popular name — and are eaten, raw or 

 cooked, by travellers. 



3. A. Plattensis, Xutt. Loosely villous ; stipules conspicuous ; leaflets 

 oblong, often glabrous aliove ; flowers crowded in a short spike or ol)long head, 

 cream-color often tinged or tipped with purple; fruit ovate, pointed, and with 

 the calyx villous. — Gravelly or sandy banks, Minn, to Ind. and Ala., west to 

 Col. and Tex. — Var. Texxesseexsis, Gray, has the pod oblong and slightly 

 curved, and much less fleshy. May. 



* * Pod dry, coriaceous, cartilaginous or membranous, dehiscent. 

 -t- Pod completely 2-celled, sessile. 



4. A. mollissimus, Torr. Stout, decumbent, densely silky-villous through- 

 out and lomentose ; leaflets 19-29, ovate-oblong; peduncles elongated; spikes 

 dense, with rather /arf/e i;io/e< y?oi6'ers (6-12'' long); pod narrow-oblong (.5- 

 9'' long), glabrous, somewhat obcompressed and sulcate at both sutures, at length 

 incurved. — Neb. to Kan. and Tex., west to Col. The mo.st common "loco"- 

 plant, and said to be very poisonous to cattle. 



5. A. Canadensis, L. Tall and erect {l- 4° his;h), somewhat pubescent 

 or glabrate; leaflets 21 -27, oblong ; ^o?t'ers greenish cream-color, very numer- 

 ous, in long dense spikes; pods crowded, oblong (6" long), glabrous, teirte, 

 scarcely sulcate and only on the back, nearly straight. — River-banks, western 

 N. Y. to N. Ga., and far westward. 



6. A. adsiirgens, Pall. Ascending or decumbent (4-18' high), cinereous 

 with minute a])pressed ])ubescence or glabrate; leaflets about 21, narrowly or 

 linear-oblong ; spike dense, with medium-sized pale or purplish flowers ; pu- 

 bescence of calyx appressed ; pod oblong (4-5" long), finely pubescent, trian- 

 gular-compressed, icitli a deep dorsal furrow, straight. — Red River valley, Minn., 

 to AY. Kan., and westward. (Asia.) 



7. A. hypoglottis, L. Slender (6' -2° long), diffusely procumbent or 

 ascending, icith a rather loose pubescence or nearly glabrous; leaflets 15-21, 

 oblong, obtuse or retuse ; fiowers violet, capitate ; calyx loosely pubescent ; jtod 

 as in the last, but ovate and silky-villous. — Red River valley, Minn., to central 

 Kan. and westward. 



