LEGUMINOSAE (PULSE FAMILY) 515 



31. WISTARIA Nutt. 



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

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

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

 diadelphous. Pods elongated, thickish, knobby, stipitate, many-seeded, at 

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

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

 tinguished anatomist of Philadelphia.) KRAUNHIA Raf. WISTARIA Spreng. (a 

 later spelling). 



1. W. frutSscens (L.) Poir. Downy or smoothish when old, without club- 

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

 Raf. ; Bradleya Britton. ) Alluvial grounds, Va. to Fla. May. Sometimes 

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

 species, W. chinensis DC. 



2. W. macrostachya Nutt. Racemes 1.5-2 dm. long ; pubescence 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. (Kraunhia macrostachys 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 reflexed 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 usually necessary for 

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

 plant, as also of the ankle-bone.) 



1. Pod turgid, completely or imperfectly ^-celled by the intrusion of the dorsal 

 suture, the ventral suture being not at all or less deeply inftexed. 



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

 tate, completely ^-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-walled, 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. plattSnsis Nutt. Loosely villous ; leaflets oblong, often glabrous above ; 

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

 with purple ; fruit 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. tennesseSnsis Gray. Hirsute ; stipules large ; leaves and flowers as in 

 the last ; fruit 2.4-2.8 cm. long, pointed, strongly wrinkled, (A. plattensis, var. 

 Gray.) 111., Morris (Vasey}, Ogle Co. (ebb) ; Tenn. and Ala.; reported also 

 from Mo. Apr., May. 



