LEGUMINOS.F.. (rULSK F'AMILY.) 135 



I. Pod turgid, completeli/ or imppr/ecf/i/ 2-ce/led bt/ the intrusion of the dorsal 

 suture, the ventral suture beimj not at all or less dtejilj injlixud. — Astua- 

 GAUs proper. 



» Pod j)lum-s/uij)ed, succulent, becoming thick and Jieshi/, indvltL^irnt, not stiin- 

 tate, completeli/ 2-celled. 



1. A. caryocarpus, Ker. (Guoi'vd Pum.) Pale and niimitoly ap- 

 pressed-piiboscent ; leatlets uarrowly oblong; flowers in a short Hpikc-like 

 raceme ; corolla oiolet-purple ; fruit glabrous, orate-glubular, more or less pointed, 

 about §' in diameter, verg thirk-wcdled, cellular or corky when dry. — Sxsk. 

 aud Minn, to Mo., Col., and Tex. May. 



2. A. Mexicanus, A. DC. Smoother, or pubescent with looser hairs, 

 larj^er; loaHets roundish, obovate, or oblong; flowers larger (10- 12" long) ; 

 calyx softly hairy ; corolla cream-color, bluish onlg at the tip : fruit globular, very 

 obtuse and pointless, 1' or more in diameter; otherwi.se like the last. — Prai- 

 ries and open plains. 111. to Kan., south to Tex. The unripe fruits of both 

 resemble green plums — whence the popular name — and are eaten, raw or 

 cooked, by travellers. 



3. A. Plattensis, Xutt. Loosely villous ; stipules conspicuous ; leaflets 

 oblong, often glabrous above ; flowers crowded in a short spike or oblong heail, 

 creaniK-olor ofteu tinged or tipped with purple ; y)-M<7 ovale, pointed, and with 

 the calyx villous. — Gravelly or sandy banks, Minn, to Ind. and Ala., west to 

 Col. and Tex. — Var. Tennesseensis, Gray, has the pod oblong and slightly 

 curved, and much less fleshy, INIay. 



* * Pod drij, coriaceous, cartilaginous or membranous, dehiscent. 

 H- Pod completely 2<eUed, sessile. 



4. A. mollissimus, Torr. Stout, decumbent, densely silky-villous through- 

 out and tomentuse ; leaflets 19-29, ovate-oblong; peduncles elongated; spikes 

 dense, with rather /ar^e ^.vo/ef y?ou;ers (6-12" long); pod narrow-oblong (5- 

 9" long), glabrous, somewhat obcompressed and sulcate at both sutures, at length 

 incurved. — Neb. to Kan. and Tex., west to Col. The most commou "loco"- 

 plant, and said to 1)e very poisonous to cattle. 



5. A. Canadensis, L. Tall and erect {\ -4° hls^h), some u-hat pubescent 

 or glabrate ; leaflets 21-27, oblong; fowers greenish cream-color, very numer- 

 ous, in long dense spikes; pods crowded, oblong (6" long), glabrous, ttrete, 

 scarcely sulcate and only on the back, nearly straight. — Hiver-banks, western 

 N. Y. to N. Ga., and far westward. 



6. A. adsiirgens, Pall. Ascending or decumbent (4- 18' high), cinereous 

 witli minute appressed pubescence or glabrate; leaflets about 21, narrowly or 

 linear-oblong; spike dense, with medium-sized pale or j)urplish flowers; ;>«- 

 bescence of calyx appr-essed ; pod oblong (4-5" lonv;), finely pubesnnt, trian- 

 gular-compressed, icith a deep dorsal furrow, straight. — Red Kiver valley, Minn., 

 to W. Kan., and west\vard. (Asia.) 



7. A. hypoglottis, L. Slender (6' -2° long), diffusely procumbent or 

 ascending, zt'/i/i a rather loose pubescence or nearly glabrous^; leaflets 15-21, 

 oblong, obtuse or retuse ; flowers violet, capitate : calyx loosely /nibesrent : pod 

 as in the last, but ovate aud silky-villous. — Red River valley, Minn., to central 

 Kan. and westward. 



