78 LEGUMINOSiE. 



10. AMORPHA. 1.17171.— False Indigo. 



(From the Greek a, privative, and noQiprj^ shape ; on account of the absence of 

 the wings and keel of the corolla.) 



Calyx 5 -toothed, obconic-campanulate. Standard of the co- 

 rolla ovate, concave ; wings and keel none. Style filiform, 

 straight, glabrous. Stamens exserted, monadelphous at base. 

 Legume compressed, ovate or lunulate, 1-celled, 1 — 2-seeded. 



A. fruticosa Linn. : subarborescent, pubescent, or nearly smooth ; leaves 

 pinnate, petiolate ; oval or elliptic-oblong ; spikes aggregated ; calyx some- 

 what pubescent, 4 teeth obtuse, the other one acuminate; legume few- 

 seeded. 



N. J. to Flor. W. to Rocky Moimtains. July. — A shrub with spikes of pur- 

 ple flowers. Varies with emarginate, mucronate and narrower leaves. 



Shrubby False Indigo. 



11. ROBINIA. D. C— Locust. 

 (In honor of John and Vespasian Robin, French botanists.) 

 Teeth of the calyx 5, lanceolate, two upper ones approximate. 

 Corolla papilionaceous. Standard large. Keel obtuse. Sta- 

 mens diadelphous, deciduous. Legume compressed, straight, 

 subsessile, many-seeded ; valves flat, thin. 



R. Pseudacacia Linn. : leaves pinnate ; leafets ovate and oblong-ovate ] 

 stipules prickly ; racemes pendulous, and vdth the legume smooth ; teeth of 

 the calyx unarmed. 



Near cultivated grounds, but apparently native. N. Y. to Car. W. to Miss. 

 May. — A large tree, the wood of which is much esteemed in ship-building. 

 Leafets 4 — 9 pairs, with an odd one. Flowers white, odorous, in racemes which 

 are 3 — 5 inches long. Common Locust Tree. 



12. ASTRAGALUS. Linn.— Milk Vetch. 

 (A name given by the Greeks to a leguminous plant.) 

 Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla with the keel obtuse. Stamens 

 diadelphous. Legume 2-, or half 2-celled ; lower suture in- 

 flexed. 



A. Canadensis Linn. : erect, canescent ; leafets 10 — 14 pairs with an 

 odd one, elliptic-oblong, rather obtuse, smoothish ; stipules broad-lanceolate, 

 acuminate ; peduncles about as long as the leaves ; flowers in oblong or 

 elongated spikes ; bracts subulate, nearly as long as the calyx ; legume 

 ovate-oblong, terete, erect, smooth, 2-celled, many-seeded. A. Carolinianus 

 Linn. 



Banks of streams. Can. as far N. as lat. 58°, to Louis, and W. to Oregon. 

 June — Aug. %-. — Stem 1 — 3 feet high. Leafets usually smooth above, sparsely 

 pubescent beneath. Flowers pale yellow, in spikes 1 — 4 inches long. 



Canadian Milk Vetch. 



