Astragalus. LEGUMINOSiE. ^^^ 



than the tube : corolla purple, about lialf an inch long : pod ovate and pointfil, in- 

 flated, of somewhat chartaceous texture, nearly thnn; fourths of an inch long, hoary 

 with appressed hairs, nearly or quite 2-celled. — I'l. Ilartw. 307. A. Arlhu-Schottii 

 Gray, 1. c. 209. 



Near IMouterey, Coulter, according to his herhaiiuni ; Imt prolialjly collected in the arid i-egioii 

 of the southeastern borders of the State, where it was found by Fremont, Schott, Cooper, kc. 



7. A. aridus, Gray. Silvery silkj^-canesceut, like the preceding: leaflets oblong, 

 3 or 4 lines long: peduncles shorter than the leaves, spicately 5-8-fiowered: corolla 

 barely twice the length of the calyx, hardly over 2 lines long, yellowish-white : pod 

 obli(|uely ovate, acute, inflated, of Arm chartaceous texture, half an inch long, caues- 

 cent, one-celled. — Proc. Am. Acad. vi. 223. 



Southern borders of the State, between Colorado and San Diego, Tliurbcr. 



II. Species with 2)e7^ennial roots : leaflets and stijjules not sjnnescent. 



§ 1. Pod Uaddery-infiated (the walls thin and membranous), several - many-seeded, 



% Two-celled by the turning in of both stitures till they meet or nearly so, more or 

 less didymous, being grooved externally down both sides, sessile in the calyx. 



A. DIPHYSUS, Gray, PI. Fendl. 34, which extends from New Mexico to the centre of Nevada, 

 comes near A. lentiginosus, but is glabrous throughout, except sometimes a little pubescence on 

 the calyx, and has rather large pods. 



8. A. lentiginosus, Dough A span to a foot or so high, the tufted stems 

 soon dilfusi'ly spioading, from slightly to hoary-pubescent: leaflets 11 to 19, from 

 obovate or obcordate to oblong, a quarter to half an inch long : peduncle short : 

 flowers and fruits mostly crowded in the oblong spike or raceme : corolla either 

 white or purple, nearly half an inch long : pod turgid-ovate and pointed, more or 

 less incurved, usually puberulent, occasionally purplish-mottled, seldom an inch and 

 sometimes only half an inch long. — A. ineptns, Gray, Proc. Am. Acad. vi. 525, 

 appears to be only a narrow-leaved and pubescent form. A. diajjhaiius, iJougl. iu 

 Hook. PI. i. 151. 



Var. Fremontii, Watson. More hoary-pubescent, with looser-flowered spikes, 

 usually on a longer peduncle : stem flexuous. — A. Fremontii, Torr. & Gray. 



Common through the, arid interior region, from Washington Territory and the eastern part of 

 the Sierra Nevada to the southern borders of the State ; the variety mostly southward. Yar. 

 florihundus. Gray, is the" ordinary form well developed. This species is one of the poisonous 

 " Eattle-weeds " of the southern and eastern parts of the State. 



9. A. platytropis, Gray. Dwarf and tufted on long and stout horizontal root- 

 stocks, densely silvery-silky ; the stems very short, harilly rising above the ground : 

 leaflets 7 to 13, obovate or oblong, 3 lines or less in length : slender scape-like 

 peduncles about the length of the tufted leaves, bearing a little head of 5 or G 

 flowers : corolla yellowish-white, except the broad and round-tipped keel, Avhich is 

 purplish and as long as the other petals : pod turgid-ovate, very short-pointed, 

 puberulent, sometimes purplish-mottled, an inch or less in length. — Proc. Am. 

 Acad. vi. 526. 



Sierra Nevada above Sonora Pass, at 10,000 feet, Brcv:cr. East Humboldt llountaius, Nevada. 

 at 11,000 feet, Watson. 



* * One-celled piod, with no turning in of the dorsal suture, 



-{- Stijntate, i. e. the pod raised more or less on a stalk of its own above the calyx. 



■^+ Stems low and tufted : pod obovate or oval and very obtuse : peduncles hardly 



exceeding the leaf, rather feio and densely flowered. 



10. A. Hookerianus, Gray. Silky-villous or pubescent, difi'usely tufted, a 

 span hio-li : Irallrts 1 :', to 19, obJong or linear, 2 or 3 linos long : flowers very short- 

 pedicelled : corolla white or whitish : pod obovate and not in the least pointed, 



