424 



ASTRAGALUS 



ASTRANTIA 



ASTRAGALUS (ancient Greek name of some shrub). 

 Legumindsx. MILK VETCH. Hardy herbs or sub- 

 shrubs, now and then seen in plantings. 



Leaves mostly odd-pinnate, sometimes simple: fls. in 

 spikes or racemes, yellow, purple or white; calyx tubular, 

 its teeth nearly equal; petals clawed, the standard erect; 

 stamens in 2 clusters, the anthers similar: pods fleshy, 

 leathery or papery, not much swollen, as they are in 

 the membranous-legumed Phaca, the nearest relative. 



About 1,500 species. Many kinds are cult, in the 

 Old World, but those described below are the only 

 kinds commonly sold in Amer. The loco-weed of the 

 prairies, which is said to poison cattle, is A. mollissi- 

 mus. For those below and many others, the student 

 is referred to Britton and Brown's Illustrated Flora, 

 Nelson's Manual of Rocky Mountain Botany, and 

 Rydberg's Flora of Colorado. The botanical characters 

 are mostly found in the pods. 



Astragaluses prefer a light, porous soil and no shade. 

 The dwarfer kinds may be placed in the front of the 

 border or in the rockery. 



Propagation is chiefly by seeds, which germinate 

 slowly, or by careful division in early spring. Many 

 kinds are likely to die if divided or transplanted, as they 

 are mycorrhizal plants, much dependent on a semi- 

 parasitic organism, which is better left undisturbed. 



A. Fls. yellow. 



alopecuroides, Linn. St. erect, strict; height 2-5 ft.: 

 Ifts. ovate-lanceolate, pubescent: fls. in thick ovate- 

 oblong spikes, on short, axillary peduncles. Siberia. 

 B.M. 3193. 



carolinianus, Linn. (A. canadensis. Linn.). One to 

 ZYi ft.: Ifts. 15-31, glabrous or slightly pubescent, 



elliptic or oval, obtuse or slightly emarginate at apex: 

 fls. yellowish, % 1 in. long, in a dense spike: pods 2- 

 celled, coriaceous, sessile, terete and glabrous. July, 

 Aug. E. N. Amer. L.B.C. 4:372. 



Drummondii, Douglas. Erect, 10-20 in. : Ifts. 19-33. 

 glabrous, oblong or sometimes oblanceolate, and 

 obtuse: fls. yellowish white, the keel rarely tinged with 

 purple, \-\ l /i in. long, in a loose spike: pods 1-celled, 

 distinctly stalked, glabrous and grooved. June, July. 

 Plains of Cent. N. Amer. Hook. Fl. Bor. Amer. 57. 



AA. Fls. not yellow. 



B. Sis. trailing. 



monspessulanus, Linn. St. trailing: height 9 in.: fls. 

 purple, purplish or white, in smaller and looser heads 

 than the above. Eu. B.M. 375. 



BB. Sis. erect or merely decumbent, not trailing. 

 c. Plants not spiny. 



D. Pods 1-celled. 



flexuosus, Hook. Four to 15 in., leafy-std. and finely 

 hairy: Ifts. 9-21, linear, oblong or oblanceolate, obtuse 

 or emarginate: fls. purplish, ^-%in. long, the pedun- 

 cles exceeding the Ivs. : pods 1-celled, sessile, cylindric, 

 linear or linear-oblong. June-Aug. Plains of Cent. 

 N. Amer. 



alpinus, Linn. Height 6-15 in.: Vis. 13-25: fls. 

 violet, keel darker: pods 1-celled, black-pubescent. 

 Northern and Arctic regions around the world. 



DD. Pods more than 1-celled. 



hypogl6ttis, Linn. Fig. 430. Height 3-24 in. : Ifts. 

 17-25: fls. violet-purple, 6-10 lines long, in dense 

 heads: pods 4^5 lines long, 2-celled, densely villous 

 with white hairs. Eu., Asia, and from Kan. west to 

 Nev. and north to Alaska. Also a white variety 

 excellent for pots. 



caryocarpus, Ker-Gawl. Perennial, the whole plant 

 tomentulose: sts. decumbent, ultimately ascending: 

 Ivs. alternate, distant, with 17-25 Ifts.: fls. pale violet- 

 purple, the calyx about half as long as the corolla: seeds 

 several in each cell. La. B.R. 176. 



adsurgens, Pall. (A. Ldxmanii, Jacq.). Fig. 431. 

 Small, erect or mostly decumbent plant, with 15-25 

 Ifts., which are oval to linear-oblong, obtuse and rarely 

 emarginate: fls. purplish, }^-l in. long, the peduncles 

 exceeding the Ivs., the spikes dense: pods 2-celled, 

 sessile, oblong and pointed. June, July. Plains of Cent. 

 N. Amer. Jacq. Hort. Vind. 3:37 (as A. Laxmanii). 



cc. Plant spiny: fls. white. 



horrida, Boiss. A low bristly perennial with spiny 

 Ivs. composed of 7-8 pairs of broad Ifts. : fls. white in a 

 dense, long-stalked, spike-like cluster. Persia. Curi- 

 ous and rare, rather than attractive. 



A. racemdsus, Pursh. Zigzag, erect St.: Ifts. 17-21: fls. yellowish 

 in loose racemes. July. Plains of Cent. U. S. A. Rdbbinsii, Oakea. 

 Erect and glabrous: Ifts. 9-25: fls. in loose racemes, white or purple: 

 pods 1-celled, flattened. Suitable for rocky places. June, July. 

 N. E. U. S. A. ShorKAnus, Nutt. Silvery canescent: Ifts. 9-15: fls. 

 blue or violet: pods sessile, 1-celled, strongly curved upward. May, 

 June. Plains of Cent. U. S. j^ TAYLOR 



ASTRANTIA (name in allusion to star-like appear- 

 ance of umbels). Umbtlliferie. MASTERWOKT. Peren- 

 nial garden plants, grown for the odd and ornamental 

 umbels and attractive habit. 



Glabrous and erect low herbs with dark-colored 

 aromatic roots: Ivs. palmately lobed or dissected, 

 petioled, the st.-lvs. often sessile and more simple: fls. 

 polygamous, the sterile long-pedicelled and the fertile 

 short-pedicelled; calyx with 5 foliaceous lobes, more or 

 less tuberculate; petals oblong-ovate, connivcnt: fr. 

 compressed. Perhaps a half-dozen species, in Eu. 

 and W. Asia, bearing fls. in leafy-involucred umbels 

 and umbellules, the fls. being white, rose-colored or 

 blush. The astrantias grow a foot or more high, making 



