Alpini. 137 



barely longer than the keel, about 6 mm. long, arched gently from 

 crJyx to nearly erect, thick, the thin white margins reflexed about 2-3 

 mm. wide. Wings oblanceolate and rounded, barely 2 mm. wide. Keel 

 very obliquely elliptical, the obtuse tip ascending mostly to 45°, 

 pbout 2 mm. wide. Calyx tube about 5 mm. long and 4 mm. high, 

 smooth except at the rudimentary teeth, the teeth almost obsolete. 

 The filiform pedicels conspicuous, 4-10 mm. long. Bracts nearly 

 equaling the calyx. Leaves 1-1.5 dm. long, with very short petioles. 

 Leaflets 5-9 pairs, ovate to oblong-elliptical, lighter below ;ind sparse- 

 ly pubescent with very short and woolly hairs, often 5 cm. long, 

 rounded to notched. Stems stout, 2-3 ft. high, strict, from slender but 

 rather woody roots. Occasional from Dakotah and northern Colo- 

 raao in subalpine valleys around the edges of woods to the Arctic, 

 northwestward to the head of the Bitterroot in Montana at Alta. 

 Not in the Great Basin nor (so far) reported from the western 

 edge of the Columbia Basin. 



91. Astragalus andinus (Nutt.) Phaca andiua Nutt in T. & G. 

 Fl. 1 345 1838. A. astragalinus (L.) Sheldon, Phaca astragalina L. 

 196. The necessity for adopting the Phaca alpina L. for the A. fri- 

 gidus L., because of the Vienna rules, requires renaming the Astra- 

 galus alpinus of Linnaeus. For evident reason I do not adopt the 

 senseless name astragalinus, nor the already preoccupied A^. giganteus 

 of Sheldon, another equally senseless name for this diminutive plant. 

 Pods as well as flowers capitate or very shortly spicate, 1-1.5 cm. 

 long, 3-4 mm. wide, rarely 3 mm. high, obliquely oblong, nearly straight, 

 closely reflexed, shortly and abruptly acute at both ends to triangular 

 and even acuminate at base, the longitudinRl section generally ellin- 

 tical from side to side, black-hairy and mostly shaggy, but variable 

 with dorsil suture from conspicuously produced half way to a mere line 

 within. Flowers 7-12 mm. long, purple-tipped, rarely all purple, can- 

 itate when many, sometimes few, and pods reduced to a single 

 terminal one or few, or many, generally 6-12 mostly widely spreading 

 Did soon closely reflexed. Banner obovate to oval, 5-10 mm. long, 

 nther abruptly arched to 30 to 90 degrees at calyx tips or 2 mm. 

 beyond and wlien much reflexed seems remote from keel, about 1 mm. 

 longer than keel or less, with the obovate and rounded white spot 

 ( onsnif^uously purple-veined, with sides reflexed most in the middle 

 and 2 mm. wide; groove V-shaped and vanishing above. Wings oblong- 

 ''lavatf. 9 n^m. wide, about 5 mm. lone, about as long as or a little 

 shorter than keel, neither grooved nor notched, pale to white, straight, 

 or ascending 30 degrees. Keel very large for the flower, straight, 

 the base straight and then arched variously but rarely to erect, the 

 general outline being clavate and broadly oblanceolate, the tip 3-4 

 mm. high and about 3 mm. wide, triangular and rounded to nearly 

 acute, about as long as banner and very prominent. Calyx tube cam- 

 panulate to hemispherical, a trifle laterally flattened, cleft deeper 

 rbovp with narrow sinus, a trifle oblique at base but equally inserted, 

 about 2 mm. long; teeth triangular, unequal, variable hut not as long 

 as tube. Pedicels about 2 mm. long and equaled by the hyaline bracts. 

 Peduncles subterminal, stout for the plant, 7-10 cm. long, ascending, 

 longer than the leaves, very sulcate. Leaves all petioled except the 

 uppermost. Leaflets oval to elliptical. 7-10 mm. long, obtuse, rarely 

 rptuse, gradually smaller above, mostly 10 (6-12) pairs, the northern 

 forms rather silky with sparse, white, long and fine, loosely appressed 

 hairs, but the southern forms almost smooth. Stems almost fili- 

 form, flexuous, with few long internodes, the lower ones mostly short, 

 weak and flat on the ground, or with ascending tips, much branched, 

 rarely a foot long, forming loose and open mats. Stipules conspicuous 

 ereen, large, rather deltoid. Very variable plants in size of flowers, 

 length of stipe, and width of pods. European pods are often half as 

 wide as long. Vv^^stern flowers are mostly small though the large 



