Vou. II.] PEA FAMILY. 303 
1g. Astragalus distortus T. & G. 
Bent Milk Vetch. (Fig. 2143.) 
Astragalus distortus T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1: 333. 
1838. 
Sparingly pubescent or glabrate, diffuse or as- 
cending, much branched from the base, stems 
8’-15’ long. Leaflets 11-25, obovate or oval, 
emarginate or rounded at the apex, narrowed at 
the base, 2’/-5’’ long; flowers purple, 4//-6’’ 
long, in loose short spikes; pod sessile in the 
calyx, 1-celled, slightly inflated, linear-oblong, 
coriaceous, strongly curved, glabrous, grooved 
on the under side, 1/-14’ long. 
In dry soil, Illinois to Iowa, south to West Vir- 
ginia, Mississippi and Texas. March-July. 
20. Astragalus élegans (Hook.) Britton. 
Pretty Milk Vetch. (Fig. 2144.) 
Phaca elegans Hook. Fl. Bor. Am. 1: 144. 1830. 
Astragalus oroboides var. Americana A. Gray, Proc. Am. 
Acad. 6: 205. 1864. 
Phaca parvifiora Nutt.; T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1: 348. 1838. 
Glabrous or nearly so, erect or ascending, slender, 
somewhat branched, 107-20’ high. Stipules ovate, 
acute, about 2’ long; flowers purple, 3/’-4’’ long, in 
elongated spike-like racemes; leaflets 9-17, oblong or 
linear-oblong, 8’’-10’’ long; pedicels at length 1/’ long; 
pod sessile, ellipsoid, 1-celled, pendent, slightly in- 
flated, obtuse at each end, apiculate, black-pubescent 
all over, 2/’-3/’ long. 
_Quebec, Labrador, the Saskatchewan region and in the 
higher and northern Rocky Mountains. June-Aug. 
21. Astragalus aboriginorum Richards. Indian Milk Vetch. (Fig. 2145.) 
Astragalus aboriginorum Richards. App. Frank. 
Journ. 28. 1823. 
Phaca aborigina Hook. FI. Bor. Am. 1; 143. pl. 56. 
1830. 
Finely canescent or glabrate, erect, somewhat 
branched, 8/-15’ high. Stipules ovate, acute, 
membranous or foliaceous, 2//-3/’ long; leaflets 
9-13, linear or oblong, obtuse or acute, 6//—10/” 
long; flowers white, tinged with violet, 4//-5/’’ 
long, in rather loose racemes; peduncles longer 
than the leaves; pod slightly inflated, compressed, 
oyal in section, 1-celled, glabrous, half-elliptic, 
long-stipitate, acute at each end, slightly sulcate, 
the dorsal suture slightly intruded; calyx blackish- 
pubescent, its teeth subulate. 
Manitoba and the Northwest Territory, south to 
Colorado. Root long and yellow, ‘‘collected by the 
Cree and Stone Indians in the spring as an article of 
food’ (Richardson). May-June. 
