148 rouo-scierocarpi. 



fresh grass-green to brownish and becoming reddish, very fleshy 

 with walls about 2 mm. thiclv, not at all woody and with thin 

 Inner skin-like wall, the whole becomes when dry spongily carti- 

 laginous, the dorsal suture is a trifle thickened when fresh, pod 

 then smooth and not at all wrinkled or nerved, thick-winged and 

 wing obtuse, when dry wing is sharp and thin. Flowers pink-purple, 

 about 1 cm. long, 7-9, congested. Banner oval-ovate, retuse, abruptly 

 arched to 45 degrees at end of calyx tube, sides reflexed fully 3 mm. 

 wide from middle up but not turned far back, groove V-shaped, 

 fully 2 mm. deep below, about 1 mm. wide and widening to 3 mm. 

 above, white spot oblong-fan-shaped and purple lined and lacerate 

 above, filling the groove, the rest of banner purple. Wings nar- 

 rowly oblong, straight, rounded at tip, flaring about equally 2 mm. 

 below tip and then turned nearly horizontal as in A. amphioxys, 1 mm. 

 longer than keel, about 2 mm. wide and much narrower than keel, 

 purple, very blunt. Keel short, straight, at tip sharply arched to 90 

 degrees, very obtuse, purple, 3 mm. high, ,5 mm. long. Bracts trian- 

 gular, green, rigid, conspicuous, shorter than the pedicels. Pedicels 

 stout in fruit, 3-5 mm. long. Peduncles about 1 dm. long, sulcate, 

 rather stout and strict. Fruiting rachis ab^ut 5 cm. long. Leaves not 

 over 8 cm. long, almost sessile. Petioles about 1 cm. long, the rachis 

 filiform and persistent and rigid. Leaflets not jointed to rachis. 2-4 

 pairs, linear, channeled sharply acute, 2.5-4 cm. long, hardly 1 mm. 

 wide, sometimes arched a little, distant, strongly 1-nerved, puberulent 

 on both sides, about as wide as rachis, the terminal one represented 

 by it and and not enlarged. Stipules green, closely reflexed, trian- 

 gular, spreading to reflexed. Stems weak and outer ones ascending 

 only, sulcate, proper stems rarely over 2 dm. long, ashy. This grows 

 along the flats of the Humboldt Nevada, along with salt grass, Spo- 

 robolus and the like. Lower Temperate life zone. This has the habit 

 and general appearance of A. pectinatus, and grows in similar meadows 

 103. Astragalus tetrapterus Gray Proc. Am. Acad. 13 369 nSTSV 

 Pods 4-angled, not conspicuously obcompressed, when dry shining and 

 smooth, with fine cross veins sometimes branched in the middle. 4- 

 winged by having both sutures raised as wings as well as the sir'es 

 produced in short wings, with cross section diamond shaped, often 

 oblntely so, pod naTowly oblong, inclined to be broader above, the 

 base and tip triangular acute, in the green pods they are only 4-angled, 

 P'M-nle-snotted. with solid walls fleshy but not woody and 2 mm. thick, 

 internal cavity then inclined to be linear showing that the pod is 

 really obcompressed, pod about 4 cm. long, 1 cm. wide and 5 mm. 

 high, falcate like a ramshorn, not splitting the calyx, the valves when 

 rii)e curling out at tip. not more thnn coriaceous when rii)e. Flowers 

 subcapit-.te. 5-9, white or purple, 1.5-2 cm. long, narrow erect, banner 

 oblong (linear as you look at it), 4 mm. wide, 1-1.5 cm. long, arched 

 in gentle arc to 45 to 60 degrees, notched, with pink veins near the 

 keel tip, 5-8 mm. longer than keel, sides most reflexed (to 90 degrees) 

 opposite keel, narrowly fiddle shaped, reflexed part 1 mm. wide, 

 groove narrowly V-shaped and ? mm. deep below keel and shallowing 

 almost into. a nerve at tip. Wings close pressed to keel to within 

 2 mm. rf 'ts tij) and then spreading to 2 mm. apart a,t the ends, 

 concave to keel and parallel to it, 2 mm. wide, with involute edges, 

 about half as wide as keel, linear, obtuse, nearly straight, white 

 or purple, 2 mm. longer than keel. Keel a little downwardly arched 

 and then bent in a half circle to the obtuse tip, pink or purple- tip- 

 ped, 6 mm. longer than calyx tips. Calyx slightly angled, greenish- 

 white, about 7 mm. long and 2 mm. high, laterally compressed, erect, 

 narrowly oblong, nearly straight, gibbous, the nerves less evident 

 and farther apart than in pterocarpus. Teeth subulate, 2 mm. long 

 Pedicels slender when dry, 4 mm. long, strict, inclined to be 2-bracted 

 near calyx. Bracts very small, barely 2 mm. long, triangular. Peduu- 



