LEGUMINOSAE (^PULSE FAMILY) 515 



31. WISTERIA Nutt. 



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

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

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

 diadelphous. Pods elongated, thickish, knobby, stii^itate, many-seeded, at 

 length 2-valved. Seeds large. — Ovate-lanceolate leaflets 9-13 ; racemes of large 

 and showy lilac-purple flower.s. (Dedicated to Professor Caspar Wistar, dis- 

 tinguished anatomist of Philadelphia.) Krauxhia Kaf. Wistaria Spreng. (a 

 later spelling). 



1. W. frutescens (L.) Poir. Downy or smoothish when old, vnthoiit club- 

 shaped hairs; racemes short and dense; calyx-teeth very short. {Kraunhia 

 Kaf. ; Bradleya Brilton. ) — Alluvial grounds, Va. to Fla. May, — Sometimes 

 cultivated for ornament as is the still handsomer and more showy Chinese 

 species, W. chinensis\)C 



2. W. macrostachya Nutt. Racemes 1.5-2 dm. long ; ptihescence of the pedi- 

 cels and calyx mixed, including club-shaped hairs; calyx-teeth half to three 

 fourths the length of the tube; standard less strongly auricled than in the pre- 

 ceding. (Krau)ihia raacrostachys Small ; Bradleya Small.) — Rich soil, swamps, 

 etc., Ind. (?) to Mo., Kan.(?), and La. May. 



32. ASTRAGALUS [Tourn.] L. Milk Vetch 



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

 ing or exceeding the wings and blunt keel, its sides refiexed or spreading. Sta- 

 mens 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 iLsually necessary for 

 certain identification of the species. (The ancient Greek name of a leguminous 

 plant, as also of the ankle-bone.) 



§ 1. Pod turgid^ comp)letely or imperfectly 2-celled by the intrusion of the dorsal 

 suture^ the ventral suture being not at all or less deeply inflexed. 



* Pod plum-shaped, succulent, becoming thick and fleshy, indehiscent, not stipi- 



tate, completely 2-celled. 



1. A. caryocarpus Ker. (Ground Plum.) Pale and minutely appressed- 

 pubescent ; leaflets narrowly oblong ; flowers in a short spike-like raceme ; 

 corolla violet-purple ; fruit glabrous, ovoid-globular, more or less pointed, about 

 1.6 cm. in diameter, very thick-i'mlled, cellular or corky when dry. {A. crassi- 

 carpus Nutt.) — Prairies, Sask. and Minn, to Mo., s. w. and w. to Tex. and 

 Col. Apr., May. 



2. A. mexicanus A. DC. (Ground Plum.) Smoother, or pubescent with 

 looser hairs, larger; leaflets roundish, obovate, or oblong; flowers larger (2-2.5 

 cm. long) ; calyx softly hairy ; corolla cream-color, bluish only at the tip ; fruit 

 globular, very obtuse and pointless, 2.5 cm. or more in diameter ; otherwise like 

 the last. — Prairies and open plains, 111. to Kan., s. to La. and Tex. Apr., May. 



■ — The unripe fruits 'of this and the preceding species resemble green plums 

 (whence the popular name) and are eaten raw or cooked. 



3. A. plattensis Nutt. Loosely villous ; leaflets oblong, often glabrous above ; 

 flowers crowded in a short spike or head, cream-color, often tinged or tipped 

 with purple ; /r?nY ovoid, pointed, 1.2-1.6 cm. long, with surface even; calyx 

 villous. — Gravelly or sandy banks, Minn, to Col. and Tex. Apr.-June. 



4. A. tennesselnsis Gray. Hirsute ; stipules large ; leaves and flowers as in 

 the last ; fr^iit 2.4-2.8 cm. long, pointed, strongly lorinkled. {A. plattensis, var. 

 Gray.) — 111., Morris (Vasey), Ogle Co. {Bebb) \ Tenn. and Ala.; reported also 

 from Mo, Apr., May. 



