FABACE^E, OR LEGUMINOSJE. 



rather longer than the wings ; wings stipitate, auricled at the base of 

 the limb ; keel obtuse, shorter than the wings. Ovary villous, style 

 straight. Legumes woolly, inflated, flattened on the upper edge, ending 

 in a mucro recurved downwards. DC. Labillardiere reported that 

 this produces Gum Tragacanth on Lebanon ; but it is found that its gum 

 is white and more transparent than that of commerce ; neither does it 

 dissolve so well in water, and therefore is inferior in quality. It now 

 appears uppn the testimony of Olivier that the gum of commerce is ob- 

 tained from A. verus. 



512. A. Tragacantha Linn. sp. pi. 1073, which is A. massi- 

 liensis Lam. diet. ii. 320, is said by De Candolle to yield no 

 Tragacanth. 



513. A. creticus Lam. diet. i. 321. DC. astr. n. 91. t. 33. 

 Candia, on Mount Ida. 



Leaflets 10-16, oblong, acute, downy ; petioles permanent, spiny. 

 Flowers streaked, purple, axillary, sessile, clustered. Calyx 5-parted 

 with feathery setaceous lobes rather longer than the corolla. A small 

 quantity of Tragacanth is furnished by this species ; M. Th. Martins 

 thinks it is the sort that is received in the form of threads or slender 

 strips ; while he ascribes the cake Tragacanth to A. verus. 



CORONILLA. 



Calyx campanulate, short, 5-toothed ; the superior teeth ap- 

 proximated and partially united. Claws of the petals distinctly 

 longer than the calyx ; keel acute. Stamens diadelphous. Le- 

 gume tapering, slender, finally separating into oblong 1 -seeded 

 joints. Seeds ovate or cylindrical. Shrubs or herbaceous 

 plants. Leaves unequally pinnated. Peduncles axillary, bearing 

 an umbel of stalked flowers. DC. 



514. C. Emerus Linn. sp. pi. 1046. Wittd.\\\. 1149. DC. 

 prodr. ii. 309. (Hall. helv. 389. Mill. diet. ic. t. 132. f. 1.) 



Common all over the South of Europe. (Scorpion Senna). 



A small bush. Branches deep green, strongly furrowed, quite 

 smooth. Leaflets 2-3 pairs, obovate, retuse or obtuse, when young 

 rather downy ; stipules ovate, acute, very much shorter than the first 

 joint of the petiole. Peduncles axillary, 2-3-flowered, slender, erect, 

 as long as the leaves. Calyx slightly downy, only half the length of 

 the claws of the petals. Corolla deep bright yellow. Legume a long 

 while before its joints drop in pieces. Leaves cathartic like those of 

 Senna, but less active. 



515. C. varia Linn. sp. 1048. Crantz austr. t. 432. Willd. 

 iii. 1153. DC. prodr. ii. 310. Hot. Mag. t. 258. (Clus. hist. 

 ii. 237. f. 2.) Meadows and waste places of the south of 

 Europe and the Crimea. 



A smooth, spreading herbaceous plant. Leaflets 9-13, oblong, mu- 

 cronate ; the lowest close to the stem ; stipules very small, acute. 

 Umbels 16-20-flowered. Legumes erect. Leaves diuretic and ca- 

 thartic. Juice said to be even poisonous. 



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