246 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM, 



Spec. Char,, S;c. Leaflets roundish-elliptic, retuse. Racemes drooping, few- 

 flowered. Callosities of standard papilliform. Legumes rather coriaceous, 

 pubescent. (Don's Mill.) A branchy shrub. Nepal. Height 3 ft. to 

 IGft. Flowers yellow ; August and September. Legume reddish; ripe in 

 October. 



The leaflets are small, and, being more imperfectly-developed than in any of 

 the other kinds, give it a singular appearance. 



Genus XVII. 



ASTRAGALUS Dec. 



The Milk Vetch. 

 Decandria. 



Lin. Si/st. Diadelphia 



Identification. Dec. Astrag., No. 5. ; Prod., 2. p. 291. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 253. 



Synoiu/me. .Astragalus sp. of Lin. and others ; Astragale, Fr. ; Tragant, Ger. ; Astragalo, Ital. 



Derivation. From astragalos, a vertebra ; the seeds in the legumes of some species being squeezed 

 into a squarish form, so as to look something like the joints of the backbone ; or, perhaps, from 

 asier, a star, and gala, milk. It is also the name given to a shrub by Greek writers. 



Gen. Char. Calyx 5-toothed. Keel obtuse. Stamens diadelphous. Legume 

 bilocular or half-bilocular, from the upper suture being bent in so much. 

 {Dons Mill.) 



Leaves compound, alternate, stipulate, deciduous ; pinnate : petioles per- 

 manent. Flowers in the only hardy ligneous species purplish or white. 

 Shrubs, low ; natives of the South of Europe and Asia. 



a. 1. A. rRAGACA'NTHA L. 



The Goat's-Thorn Milk Vetch, or Great Goafs 

 Thorn. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 1073. ; Woodv. Med. Bot., 276. t. 98. ; Wats. Dend. Brit., 84. 

 Synonytne. A. massiliensis Lam. Diet. 1. p. 320., Dec. Aslr. No. 96., Don's Mill. 2. p. 266. 

 Engravings. Pall. Astr., t. 4. f. 1, 2. ; Duh. Arb., 2. t. 100. ; Woodv. Med. Bot., 276. t 98. ; Wats. 

 Dend. Brit., t. 84. ; and our fig. 405. 



Spec. Char., ^c. Peduncles usually 4-flowered, 

 about equal in length to the leaves. Calyxes 

 cylindrical, with 5 short blunt teeth. Leaves 

 with 9 11 pairs of elliptic hoary leaflets. 

 (Don's Mill.) A low prickly glaucous shrub, 

 with sub-persistent leaves, and persistent pe- 

 tioles. Marseilles and Narbonne, in sanc^ 

 places, as well as Corsica and Mauritania. 

 Height 6 in. to 1 ft. Introduced in 1640. 

 Flowers purplish or white ; May to July. 

 Legumes tomentose, brown ; ripe in Sep- 

 tember. General aspect whitish. 



The flowers are disposed on axillary pe- 

 duncles, so short as to prevent them from 

 being at all conspicuous above the leaves. After the leaflets drop oflfl the 

 petioles become indurated, so as to give the plant the appearance of being 

 densely covered with spines. Propagated by seeds, which it sometimes 

 ripens in England, or by cuttings. It requires a dry soil, and a sunny 

 situation ; and is well adapted for rock-work. 



Other ligneous Species of Astragalus. A. altdicus Lodd. Cab.; A. aristaius 

 L'Herit. Stirp. 170., with yellow flowers, which is figureil in Bot. Cab. 

 t. 1278., and our fig. 406. ; A. brerifolius, with a purplish flower, figured in 

 Bot. Cab. t. 1388.. and our 7%. 407. ; and A. massiliensis Lam., which is 

 probably a variety of A. TYagacantha with white flowers instead of purplish 



405. j4stragalus Tragacaiitha. 



