103 
LEGUMINOSJE. (PULSE FAMILY.) 
Tribe IV. LOTEiE. The Melilot Tribe. 
13. ASTRAGALUS, L. Milk Vetch. 
Calyx 5-toothed. Stamens diadelphous. Pod usually turgid, 
many-seeded, partly or completely 2-celled lengthwise by the pro¬ 
jection of the outer suture (the one next the keel) into or across 
the cavity. — Chiefly herbs, with odd-pinnate leaves, and spiked 
or racemed flowers. (The ancient Greek name of a leguminous 
plant, as also of the ankle-bone ; but the connection between the 
two is past all guess.) 
1- A. €cliiadciisis, L. Tall and erect; stem downy; leaf¬ 
lets 21 - 27, oblong; flowers greenish cream-color, very numerous, in 
close spikes; pods ovoid-oblong, 2-celled. 1J. — River-banks, N. 
New York to Wisconsin, common. July, Aug. 
PHACA, L. Bladder Vetch. 
Calyx 5-toothed or cleft. Stamens diadelphous. Keel obtuse. 
Pod turgid or inflated, 1-celled ; the inner or seed-bearing su¬ 
ture a little tumid or inflexed (sometimes the lower also), many- 
seeded. — Perennial herbs, with odd-pinnate leaves, and spiked 
or close-racemed flowers. (The ancient Greek name for a sort 
of Lentil.) 
!• !*• neglecta, Torr. & Gr. Nearly smooth, erect; leaf¬ 
lets 13-21 pairs, elliptical or oblong, somewhat notched at the end, 
minutely hoary underneath ; peduncles about the length of the leaves) 
pods not stalked in the calyx , globose-ovoid , inflated , grooved at the two 
sutures, which are both turned inwards, but especially the inner — 
Gravelly banks of rivers, &c., W. New York to Wisconsin. June, 
July. —Plant l°-2° high, greener and less coarse than Astragalus 
Canadensis, with pure white flowers in less prolonged spikes. Pod 
rather papery than coriaceous when ripe, f' broad. 
Robbmsii, Oakes. Nearly smooth, slender; leaflets 
^“*llj elliptical, often notched; peduncles much longer than the leaves ; 
raceme loose and prolonged and nearly 1-sided in fruit; the pods hang- 
ing, stalked in the calyx , oblong , boat-shaped , the seed-bearing suture 
convex, the other straight. — Rocky ledges of the Onion River, near 
Burlington, Vermont, Dr. Robbins (1829). — Stems nearly 1° high, 
slender. Flowers 5" long, white. Pods scarcely 1' long, turgid, 
papery and veiny, nearly smooth (at first minutely black-haired), the 
inner suture not tumid when ripe, but the outer slightly projecting 
inwards. 
