AMORPHA— CARAGANA • 179 



Amorpha canescens P u r s h 18 14 Lead-plant Shoe-strings 



A bushy shrub, 3-14 dm. (1-4 ft.) high, densely white-canescent all 

 over; stems longitudinally ridged or furrowed; leaves 5-10 cm. long, leaf- 

 lets 21-49, crowded, oblong-elliptic, short-stalked, rounded at the base, 

 obtuse or acutish and mucronate at the apex, less hairy on the upper than 

 on the lower side, 8-14 mm. long, 4-9 mm. wide; spikes densely clustered 

 at the summit of the stems, 5-18 cm. long; flowers deep-purple, stamens 

 orange yellow; pods 1 -seeded, slightly exceeding the calyx in length: 

 canescens, hoary. 



Common on hills and prairies throughout the state except northeast. 

 Distributed from Ind. to Manitoba, south to La. and Tex. 



Flowers in June and July, fruit ripe in August and September. 



Amorpha nana N u 1 1 a 1 1 18 13 Fragrant False Indigo 

 Amorpha microphylla Pursh 1814 



A low bushy shrub, 2-3 dm. (8-13 in.) high, branches glabrous or 

 nearly so throughout; leaves 3-8 cm. long, leaflets 13-19, oval or oblong, 

 rounded at the base, blunt and mucronate at the tip, glabrous or nearly 

 so with glistening glands or dots, rather ridged; spikes usually only one 

 to a branch 4-7 cm. long, flowers fragrant, dark purple; pods 1-seeded, 

 gland-dotted, about 3 mm. long : nana, dwarf. 



Common on prairies throughout the western part of the state from 

 south to north. Distributed from Minn, to Manitoba and Kan. Flowers 

 in May, fruit ripe in July. 



Caragana Lamarck 1783 

 (Tartar name of the original species) 



Branching shrubs or small trees, with alternate, compound, even-pin- 

 nate, often fascicled leaves ; stipules sometimes spiny and persistent ; flow- 

 ers yellow in long-stalked, few-flowered racemes, or solitary, clustered at 

 the base of the young twigs or at the nodes of older twigs ; calyx tubular, 

 the two upper sepals smaller, standard with reflexed sides and long- 

 clawed, wings oblique, elongated, keel short, blunt, pistil nearly sessile, 

 ovules many, style straight or slightly bent ; fruit a sessile, linear, at 

 length cylindrical pod, about 4-5 cm. long, pointed, seeds oblong or nearly 

 spherical. 



A genus of 20 species, distributed from southern Russia to China. 



