f-uuo-scierocappl. 149 



cles not longer than the leaves, slender, 3-8 cm. long, strict. Leaves 

 6-8 cm. long, rather close-pressed to stems, the lower the smallest, 

 often very small. Leaflets 7-10 pairs, the upper ones sharply acute, 

 narrowly elliptical to linear, thick, the largest 1-2" cm. long, the 

 smallest often minute and very broad and obtuse, 1-3 mm. wide, in- 

 clined to be smooth above, and ashy-white below, the hairs short wide, 

 close-pressed. Stipules subulate, almost free, reddish. Internodes 

 short and stems therefore leafy, 1-2 ft. long, rather rigid, somewhat 

 suloate, simple or branched, almost smoo'th. Plants g'rowing in 

 sany soil inclined to alkali among junipers and bloom in April and 

 May. Lower Temperate life zone. Cobre Nevada with purple flow- 

 ers. Fort Hamilton near Kanarra Utah and south to the Grand 

 Canon and Kanab. 



Astragalus tetrapterus var. Capricornus N. Var. Flowers purple, 

 about two thirds as long as in the type and petals less elongated, in 

 loose heads. Leaves nearly smooth or equally ashy, inclined to be 

 narrower and shorter, upper leaflets inclined to be narrow and pun- 

 gently acute. Pods arched mostly into a circle and wings more de- 

 veloped, mostly mottled. Growing in loose soil among the sage- 

 brush at Cobre Nevada, in dense tufts about a foot high from a woody 

 root. 



104, Astragalus sclerocarpus Gray Proc. Am. Acad. 6 225 (1864). 

 Phaca podocarpa Hooker. Pods hoary when young, nearly glabrous 

 when ripe, not mottled, from lunate and about 1 cm. long and tri- 

 angular acute, to falcate to one third circle, long-pointed and 2.5 cm. 

 loTig. conspicuously flattened when young throughout laterally, nearly 

 1 cm. high from tip of suture to suture, in age the body becomes much 

 cbcompressed in the middle only and its cross section is oblately 

 ovQl when dry, it is circular when fresh and without a trace 

 cf wings and is green. The stipe is twice the calyx to 2.5 cm. long and 

 falcate, stout. The beak is short and stout or acuminate, upcurved. 

 Pods about the shape of A. pachypus but with slender stipe. The 

 flowers are white or tinged with purple and delicate (not thick as in 

 Gibbsii), base of petals the more colored. Banner abruptly erect from 

 a point about 3 mm. beyond cnlyx tube, oval-ovate, the erect part 

 about 7 mm. long, as you look at it the banner is deltoid or short-oblong 

 by the sides being reflexed to the midrib throughout for a space 2 mm. 

 'vide or more. Sulcus U-shaped below and shallowing upwards to a 

 mere groove W:ngs narrowly oblong, concave to keel, close pressed 

 to it and flaring beyond, arched about 15 degrees gently, narrower than 

 keel, rounded. 5 mm. longer than keel and little shorter than ban- 

 ner. 2 mm. wide. Keel with straight base, the tip shortly arched to 

 100 degrees, very obtuse, purple. Calyx tube about 5 mm. long, with 

 straight base and upper side arched, cleft deeper above, somewhat 

 narrowed and fleshy below and obliquely attached but stipe in line with 

 base, triangular teeth about 1 mm. long. Peduncles subterminal, 

 1-1.5 dm. long, stout, racemosely flowered above the middle and elon- 

 gating in age. Bracts minute. Leaflets 6-9 pairs, broadly linear 

 when flat but mostly folded, 1-1.5 cm. long, weakly attached and soon 

 falling. Petioles about as long as the internodes and shorter than the 

 le;if-rachis, persistent and rather rigid. Stipules ovate-acuminate, 

 very small. Rtems rather weak and subdecumbent, freely branched 

 throughout, about 6 dm. long, the upper stems very weak and often 

 aborting, plants soon wilting and not fleshy thickened as in most of 

 the group, inclined to be hoary with minute pubescence, the older 

 leaves less so. in the Columbia Basin only, mostly along the Columbia 

 from Umatilla to the Dalles and north to Ellensburg, near the Mal- 

 heur river Cusick. It grows on sand dunes. 



105. Astragalus bicristatus Gray P. A. A. 17 75 (1883). Pod3 

 with apex much arched, hamate-incurved, triangular-acute, narrowly 

 oblong, larger above the middle, body about 1-2.5 cm. long; not sulcate. 



