302 



LEGUMINOS/E. CLVIII. HEDYSARUM. CLIX. ONOBRYCHIS. 



266. H. Sibericum, Poir. suppl. 5. p. 17. Lam. ill. t. C28. f. 

 .'3. Flowers purple, seldom white. An elegant plant. 



Var. ft, pcdiccllfire (D. C. prod. 2. p. 313.) brat-tens shorter 

 than the pedicels. H. alpinuin, Willd. spec. 3. p. 1207. Ker. 

 bot. reg. 808. Sims, bot. mag. 22l;i. 



Alpine Hedysarum. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 1798. PI. 2 to 3 ft. 



30 H. CAUCA'SICVM (Bieb. fl. taur. 2. p. 178.) stem erect; 

 leaflets ovate, smoothish ; upper stipulas concrete, opposite the 

 leaves ; racemes on long peduncles ; bracteas longer than the 

 pedicels; legumes glabrous, pendulous. 11- H. Native of 

 Caucasus and Iberia, on the Alps. Flowers purple. Peduncles 

 almost a foot long. 



Caucasian Hedysarum. Fl. Ju. Aug. Clt. 1820. PI. 2 to 3 ft. 



31 H. BOREA'LE (Nutt. gen. amer. 2. p. 110.) stem rather 

 decumbent ; leaflets oblong-obovate, villous beneath ; stipulas 

 joined, sheathing ; with subulate segments ; racemes on long pedun- 

 cles; joints of legume smoother pubescent, and roundish. If.. H. 

 Native of North America, on the naked arid plains of the Mis- 

 souri at Fort Mandan, and in the north of Canada, and from the 

 Saskatchawan to the Arctic circle, Rocky mountains, &c. H. 

 alpinum, Michx. fl. bor. amer. 2. p. 74. Flowers purple, secund. 



Northern Hedysarum. PI. 2 to 3 feet. 



32 H. MACKE'NZII (Rich, in Frankl. journ. append, p. 745.) 

 stems decumbent ; leaflets oblong, clothed on both surfaces with 

 canescent pili ; stipulas sheathing ; joints of legume wrinkled 

 transversely and pilose. If.. H. Native of Arctic America and 

 about the Saskatchawan, on the Eagle and Red-deer hills. 

 Flowers large, red. This is the liquorice plant mentioned by Sir 

 Alexander Mackenzie as being indigenous to North-west America. 



Mackenzie's Hedysarum. PI. decumbent. 



33 H. SUBSPINOSUM (Fisch. in litt. D. C. prod. 2. p. 343.) 

 stems suffruticose, much branched, erect, and are as well as the 

 leaves clothed with adpressed canescent down ; branches and 

 peduncles permanent, and becoming hardened into spines ; pe- 

 tioles flattish ; leaves with 5-7 pairs of elliptic leaflets ; spikes of 

 flowers pedunculate, longer than the leaves ; wings shorter than 

 the calyx ; ovary linear, glabrous. Tj . F. Native of Siberia, 

 at Lake Inderskoi. This is a very singular species, with the 

 habit of Astragalus gibbosus. 



Spinose Hedysarum. Shrub ^ to 1 fot>t. 



34 H. INCARNA'TUM (Willd. spec. 3. p. 1209.) stem erect, 

 glabrous ; leaflets oblong, acute, hoary beneath ; stipulas want- 

 ing ; flowers racemose, drooping. Native of Japan. H. inca- 

 num, Thunb. fl. jap. 289. but not of Swartz. Flowers flesh- 

 coloured. Said to be allied to H. obscurum, but the plant is 

 without stipulas. 



Flesh-coluured-ftovtered Hedysarum. PI. 1 foot. 



f Doubtful species. 



35 H. LINEA'RE (Lour. fl. cochin. 452.) stem suffruticose, dif- 

 fuse ; leaflets lanceolate-linear, glabrous ; spikes terminal ; le- 

 gumes straight, linear, smooth, 6-seeded. I? . G. Native of 

 Cochin-china. Flowers pale violet. The root is esteemed to be 

 deobstruent, emmenegogue, and to create an appetite. 



Zinenr-podded Hedysarum. Shrub 2 feet. 



36 H. UNIFLORUM (Lapeyr. abr. p. 436.) stems ascending ; 

 leaflets elliptic, rather silky beneath ; flowers pedunculate, soli- 

 tary ; wings twice the length of the calyx ; legumes 4-parted, 

 villous beneath ; lobes 2-horned. %. H. Native of the Pyre- 

 nees, among rocks. Flowers yellow. 



One-flowered Hedysarum. PL ascending. 



Cult. All the species of this genus are very handsome when 

 in flower, being clothed with racemes of elegant pea blossoms ; 

 they are therefore well adapted for ornamenting flower borders 

 or rock-work. They succeed well in light rich soil, and the 

 perennial kinds are increased by dividing the plants at the roots 



in spring or by seeds. The seeds of the annual species only re- 

 quire to be sown in the open border in spring. 



CLIX. ONOBRY'CHIS (from ovoc, onos, an ass, and /3pux<, 

 bryc/to, to gnaw ; the plants are grateful to the ass). Tourn. inst. 

 t. 211. Gaertn. fruct. 2. t. 148. D. C. fl. fr. 4. p. 511. legum. 

 mem. vii. prod. 2. p. 344. Desv. journ. bot. 3. p. 125. t. 6. f. 

 33, 34. 1814. 1. p. 80. Hedysarum species of Lin. and others. 



LIN. SYST. Diadclphia, Decundria. Calyx 5-cleft, with nearly 

 equal subulate segments. Corolla papilionaceous, with the carina 

 as if it was truncate, and the wings short. Stamens diadelphous. 

 Legume sessile, of only one compressed, indehiscent, rather coria- 

 ceous, echinated, crested or winged, 1 -seeded joint, which is thicker 

 and straight on the upper suture, but convex and thinner on the 

 lower suture. European or Asiatic herbs, with impari-pinnate 

 leaves, axillary elongated peduncles, bearing spikes of red or 

 white flowers at their tops. The ovary when young is perhaps 

 truly bi-ovulate. The legume also is sometimes 2-seeded, but 

 only 1 -celled. 



SECT. I. EUBRY'CHIS (from cv, eu, well or good, fipv\<j>, brycho, 

 to gnaw ; this section contains the most useful species in agricul- 

 ture). D. C. legum. mem. vii. prod. 2. p. 344. Legume ob- 

 lique, wrinkled or prickly in the disk, and toothed or interrupt- 

 edly crested on the back. 



1 O. SATI'VA (Lam. fl. fr. 2. p. 652.) stem erect ; stipulas 

 usually distinct ; leaflets elliptic-oblong, mucronate, glabrous; 

 spikes of flowers elongated ; keel of flower shorter than the vex- 

 illum ; wings shorter than the calyx ; legumes pubescent, den- 

 ticulated on the back, but having the sides wrinkled, and rather 

 prickly. If.. H. Native of Europe, on dry calcareous hills. 

 In Britain on all calcareous hills. Hedys. onobrychis, Lin. spec. 

 1059. Jacq. austr. t. 352. Smith, engl. bot. 96. O. viciaefolia, 

 Scop. O. vulgaris, Jaum. O. spicata, Mcench. Flowers varie- 

 gated, crimson. 



Saintfoin is called L'esparcet in French ; Esparzette in Ger- 

 man, and Cedrangola in Italian. It is a deep-rooting perennial 

 plant, with branching spreading stems. It is a native of England 

 and many parts of Europe, but never found but on dry, warn, 

 chalky soils, where it is of great duration. It has been long cul- 

 tivated in France and other parts of the continent, and as an 

 agricultural plant was introduced from the latter country into 

 England about the middle of the 17th century. It has since 

 been a good deal cultivated in the chalky districts, and its pecu- 

 liar value is that it may be grown on soils unfit for being con- 

 stantly under tillage, and which would yield little under grass. 

 This is owing to the long and descending roots of the saintfoin, 

 which w r ill penetrate and thrive in fissures of rocky and chalky 

 substrata. Its herbage is said to be equally suited for pasturage 

 or for hay, and that eaten green it is not apt to swell or hove 

 cattle like the clovers or lucern. Arthur Young says, that upon 

 soils proper for this plant no farmer can sow too much of it ; and 

 in the code of agriculture it is said to be " one of the most valu- 

 able herbage plants we owe to the bounty of Providence." There 

 are no varieties of this plant, but there are numerous other 

 species of the same genus that might be cultivated. 



The best soil for saintfoin is that which is dry, deep, and cal- 

 careous, but it will grow on any soil that has a dry subsoil. 

 Kent thinks that the soils most suited to the culture of this plant 

 are those of the chalky loam, and light sandy or gravelly kinds, 

 or almost any of those of a mixed quality, provided they be not 

 too wet, and have a rocky and hard calcareous bottom to check 

 the roots at the depth of a foot or foot and a half below the sur- 

 face, which he, notwithstanding the above, conceives necessary, 

 as the plants are apt to exhaust themselves in running down. 

 And for this reason he considers it as improper for being sown 



