192 AMORPHA 



described below, there are sometimes seen in cultivation A. CALIFORNICA 

 (California) and A. VIRGATA (S.E. United States). Both resemble 

 A. fruticosa in habit and general aspect, but A. californica has downy 

 stems and leaf-stalks set with prickly glands, whilst A. virgata has broad 

 leathery leaflets and twiggy branches. 



A. CANESCENS, 'Nuttall. LEAD PLANT. 

 (Bot. Mag., t. 6618.) 



A sub-shrubby plant, 2 to 4 ft. high, entirely covered with grey down. 

 Stems erect, unbranched, springing from a woody base to which they largely 

 die back every winter. Leaves pinnate, 2 to 3 ins. long", composed of from ten 

 to twenty pairs of leaflets and an odd one ; leaflets | to f in. long, oblong or 

 ovate, stalkless, extending the entire length of the main stalk ; they are downy 

 on both sides, but paler beneath. Flowers thickly crowded on cylindrical 

 spikes, 3 to 6 ins. long, produced from the leaf-axils near the apex of the shoot, 

 and thus forming a large, leafy panicle 6 to 10 (sometimes 15 to 18) ins. high. 

 Each flower is about j in. long, with a dull purplish blue standard petal, and 

 a grey downy calyx ; they are borne close enough together to touch. Pod less 

 than | in. long, hairy, one-seeded. 



Native of Eastern N.America; introduced in 1812. It flowers trom late 

 July to September, and only ripens seeds during very fine autumns. It may be 

 increased by cuttings made of shoots too weak to flower, which must be rooted 

 in gentle warmth. It makes a large deep root-stock, which enables it not 

 only to withstand, but to thrive best in, hot, droughty seasons. It is an 

 interesting and rather striking plant which is well suited for the front of a 

 shrubbery. In a wild state it extends over a considerable latitude, and shows 

 some variation in the grey tints of its stems and leaves, and especially in the 

 size and openness of its inflorescence. The popular name of " lead plant " is 

 founded on the belief which once prevailed that its presence in a wild state 

 indicated the existence of lead ore beneath the soil. 



A. FRUTICOSA, Ltnnceus. FALSE INDIGO. 

 (Bot. Reg., t. 127.) 



A deciduous shrub, 6 to 15 ft. high, of spreading, rather ungainly habit, 

 branches slightly grooved, either slightly downy or smooth. Leaves pinnate, 

 smooth or somewhat downy, with thirteen to thirty-three leaflets, which 

 are oval or oblong, ending in a bristle-like apex, and varying in length from 

 i to 2 ins. ; there is a short, thread-like stipule at the base of each leaflet, and 

 numerous transparent dots are scattered over the blade. Racemes slender, 

 cylindrical, 4 to 6 ins. long, more or less downy, or almost smooth, produced 

 at the end of the shoots of the year, and from the axils of the terminal leaves. 

 Flowers \ in. long, densely packed, purplish blue, with yellow anthers. Pod 

 \ in. long, very warty, one- or two-seeded. 



Native of the southern United Stales ; introduced to England in 1724 by, it is 

 said, Mark Catesby, the author of the Natural History of Carolina. It exhibits 

 under cultivation a certain amount of variation in the shape and size of the 

 leaflets, in the number to each leaf, and especially in the degree of pubescence 

 on various parts of the plant. Of numerous forms the most distinct are 

 mentioned below. This shrub flowers in July, when its slender racemes give 

 a pretty effect ; the foliage also is ornamental ; yet it belongs to an inferior 

 class of shrubs, and is perhaps best suited for rough shrubberies where it may 

 be left to take care of itself. At Kew, in open ground, the shoots die back 

 nearly their entire length, and they have to be pruned over every spring. 



