134 LEGUMINOS^. (pulse FAMILY.) 



19. ROB INI A, L. Locust-tree. 



Calyx short, 5-toothed, slio;htly 2-lipped. Standard large and rounded, 

 turned back, scarcely longer tlianthe wings and keel. Stamens diadelphous. 

 Pod linear, flat, several-seeded, margined on the seed-bearing edge, at length 

 2-valved. — Trees or shrubs, often Avith prickly spines for stipules. Leaves 

 odd-pinnate, the ovate or oblong leaflets stipellate. Flowers showy, in hanging 

 axillary racemes. Base of the leaf-stalks covering the buds of the next year. 

 (Named in honor of John Robin, herbalist to Henry IV. of France, and his son 

 Vespasian Robin, Avho first cultivated the Locust-tree in Europe.) 



1. R. Pseudacacia, L. (Commox Locust or False Acacia.) Branches 

 naked ; racemes slender, louse ; flowers white, fragrant ; pod smooth. — S. Penn. 

 to Ind., loAva, and southward. Commonly cultivated as an ornamental tree, 

 and for its valuable timber; naturalized in many places. June. 



2. R. visc6sa, Vent. (Clammy L.) Branchlets and leaf-stalhs clammy ; 

 Jlowers crowded in obloncj racemes, tinged with rose-color, nearly inodorous ; 

 pod glandular-hispid. — Va. to N. C. and Ga., in the mountains. Cultivated, 

 like the last, and often escaped. June. 



3. R. hispida, L. (Bristly L. or Rose Acacia.) Shrub 3 - 8° high ; 

 branchlets and stalks bnstli/; flowers large and deep rose-color, inodorous; 

 pods glandular-hispid. — Varies with less bristly or nearly naked branchlets; 

 also with smaller flowers, etc. — Mts. of ^^a. to N. C. and Ga. May, June. 



20. WISTARIA, Xutt. 



Calyx campanulate, somewhat 2-lipped ; upper lip of 2 short teeth, the lower 

 of 3 longer ones. Standard roundish, large, turned back, with 2 callosities at 

 its base ; keel scythe-shaped ; wings doubly auricled at the base. Stamens di- 

 adelphous. Pods elongated, thickish, knobby, stipitate, many-seeded, at length 

 2-valved. Seeds large. — Woody twiners, climbing high, with minute stipules, 

 pinnate leaves of 9 - 13 ovate-lanceolate leaflets, with or without minute stipels, 

 and dense racemes of large and showy lilac-purple flowers. (Dedicated to the 

 late Professor Wisfar, of Philadelphia.) 



1. W. frutescens, Poir. DoAvny or smoothish when old; wings of the 

 corolla with one short auricle and an awl -shaped one as long as the claw. — 

 Alluvial grounds, Va. to Fla., west to S. Ind., Kan. and La. May. — Some- 

 times cultivated for ornament, as is the still handsomer Chinese species. 



21. ASTRAGALUS, Tourn. Milk-Vetch. 



Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla usually long and narrow ; standard narrow, equal- 

 ling or exceeding the wings and blunt keel, its sides reflexed or spreading. 

 Stamens diadelphous. Pod several - many-seeded, various, mostly turgid, one 

 or both sutures usually projecting into the cell, either slightly or so as to 

 divide the cavity lengthwise into two. — Chiefly herbs (ours perennials), with 

 odd-pinnate leaves and spiked or racemed flowers. Mature pods are usually 

 necessary for certain identification of the species. (The ancient Greek name 

 of a leguminous plant, as also of the ankle-bone ; but the connection between 

 the two is past aU guess.) 



