LEGUMINOSiE. (PULSE FAMILT.) 97 



1. T. Virgiiiiana, Pers. (Goat's Rue. Catgct.) Silly -villous with 

 whitish hairs when young; stem erect and simple (l°-2° high), leafy to the top; 

 leaflets 17-29, linear-oblong; flowers large and numerous, clustered in a termi- 

 nal oblong dense raceme or panicle, yellowish-white marked with purple. — Dry 



•windy soil. June, July. — Roots long aud slender, ve; Flower almost 



as large as a pea-blo-sum. 



2. T. spicaUl. Torr. & Gray. Villous with rusty Lairs; stems branched 

 below, straggling or ascending (2° long), yew- '-15, obovatc or 

 oblong-wedge-shaped, often notched at the end; flowers few, in a loose inter- 

 rupted spike raised ou a very long peduncle, reddish. — Dry soil, EL Virginia and 

 southward. July. 



•3. T. hispidula, Pursh. Hairy with some long and rusty or only 

 minnte and -.•<! pubescence; stems Blender (9' - l'-i' long), divergently 



branched, si 5-ij, oblong, varying to o iped 



and oblanceolate ; peduncles longer tian the haves, 2-4J ■ reddish- 



puiple. — Dry sandy soil, Virginia and southward. 



14. ASTRAGALUS, L. Milk- Yin. 



Calyx 5-tOOthed, Corolla usually long and narrow • standard small, equal- 

 ling or exceeding the wings and blunt keel, it. sides n I or spreading. 

 Stamens diadelphous. Pod several - mat I, various, mostly turgid, one 

 or both Bntures usually projecting into the coll, either slightly or to SB 

 gree as to divide the cavity lengthwise into tw r. — Chiefly 

 herbs, with odd-pinnate leaves and spiked or racemed Bowers. (The ancient 

 Greek nam • of a I iguininous plant, as also of the ankle-hone ; bat the connec- 

 tion between the two '. 



4 1. Pod very thick and juicy token Jresh, globular, rt I, iiuh- 



hiscent, or tardily separable through the partition into 2 tortious. 



1. A. caijocfiipus Ker. (Gbouhd Pldm.) Pale and minutely 

 apprcssed-pubescent; stems low, decumbent; leaflets numerous, narrowly ob- 

 long; flowers in a short Bpike-like racemi turpi* ; fruit ijlahrous, 

 ovate-globular, more or less pointed, aboat 3' in diameter. U— Dry soil, on the 

 Mississippi River, at the junction of the St. 1 ad westward and south- 

 ward. May. 



2. A. Ulcxicunus, A. DC. Smoother, or pubescent with looser I. 

 larger; stems usually ascending; leaflets roundish, obovate, or oblong ; flowers 

 larger (10"- 12" long) ; calyx softly hairy ; corolla cream-color, bluish only at tic 

 tip ; fruit globular, very obtust and pointless, 1' or more in diameter : otherwise 



like the last : — the unripe fruits of both are edible, and are eaten, raw or cooked, 

 by traveller.-. (A. trichocalj x. Nutt.) — Prairies and open plains, from Illinois 

 opposite St. Louis westward and southward. 



4 2. Pod dry and dehiscx nt, , tartly or complt tely 2-ceUed bj the turning inward of the 



dorsal suture. 



3. A. Canadensis, L. Tall and erect (l°-4° high), somewhat pubes- 

 cent; leaflets 21 -27, oblong; flowers greenish cream-color, very numerous, iu 



9 



