•^20 



179 Astragalus Utahensis (Torr.) T. & G. Pac. R. R. Rep. 2 120 

 (1855). I'haca nioilissima \ar. Utahensis Toit. Stansb. Rep. 385 t. 2 

 0853). Pods narrowly ul. long but .'O long-woolly as to seem half- 

 oval, about 2 cm. long, uitl; the body 5-7 mm. wide but appearing 1.5 

 cm. wide, barely 3 mm. hi^h, with the rather straightish but crinkled 

 hairs about 4 mm. long and spreading almost at right angles. When 

 stripped of the hair.< tlie pods are found to be much obcompresscd 

 nearly throughout and aiched to about one third circle, with tip very 

 short and conical, with bo.h sutures strong and a little raised, inclined 

 to be broadly sulcata at both sutures, with acutish base, opening a little 

 at tip, not inflated, and with seeds hard to get out ;this and the wool- 

 Imess being admirable adaptations for wide distribution), with cross- 

 section oblong to reniform and narrow, with wall? finely cross-wrin- 

 kled and coriaceous and rather thin when fresh but hard and with the 

 outer wail fleshy and 1 mm. thick and the inner one woody, pods loose- 

 ly attached to the calyx, ripe seede olive-colored. Flowers 2-2.5 cm. 

 long, bluish-purple when dry (therefore acid when fresh), about half a 

 dozen on the floral rachis which even in fruit is seldom as long as the 

 flowers. Banner 1-1.5 cm. long, oval, rather deeply notched, with 

 sides reflexed 3-4 mm. wide below the middle, rather abruptly arcuate 

 to 30-45 degrees just beyond the calyx tips and straight to the tip. the 

 white spot broadl)' cuneate and tridentate or with a single acuminate 

 tooth from the center of the rounded or truncate end and beautifully 

 veined with narrow and nearly parallel purple lines running down to 

 the base. Wings linear, about straight, a little larger above and roun- 

 ded, nearly twice shorter than banner and horizontal beyond, 2-5 mm. 

 longer than keel, rarely 2 mm. wide. Keel narrow, about half-.'^patuhilc 

 with the end about 3 mm. wide, the purple tip being a little above the 

 middle of the end as in A. coccineus but very obtuse. Calyx a litiie 

 inflated and hyaline, reddish, with tube about 1 cm. long, 3-6 rnm. 

 wide, a little narrowed at both ends, cleft deeper above, the sides be- 

 ing about straight, inserted on the lower corner on a stout pedicel 2-4 

 mm. long, sparsely woolly and rarely nigrescent, teeth subulate and 

 about 3 mm. long. Bracts narrowly triangular, very thin and hyaline, 

 5-10 mm. long. Peduncles stout, barely as long as the leaves, from 

 1.5 dm. long to very short, prostrate in fruit. Leaves narrow, from 1 

 dm. long to a few centimeters long and with the slender petioles shor- 

 ter than the leaf-rachis. Leaflets about contiguous, about 8 pairs, 

 softly woolly with short hairs, normally 1 cm. long, but in condensed 

 forms hardly 3 mm. long. Stems densely matted, often forming mas- 

 ses 2 feet in diameter, from 1 nm. long or less to almost acaulescent 

 and with the triangular to acuminate-lanceolate stipules imbricated or 

 concealed in the white wool, elongated in the shade. This species is 

 found mostly on south slopes in the sagebrush in gravelly places from 

 the lower part of the Middle Temperate to the upper part of the Low- 

 er Temperate life zone, from Beaverhead Co. Alont. and the western 

 part of the Green River basin W^yoming to the southern flanks of the 

 Uintas to Price Utah and the eastern slopes of the Wasatch, and west 

 throughout the Great Basin to the Sierras, southward at least to Alarys- 

 vale and Fish lake Utah, Osceola and Tonopah Nevada, southward of 

 the latter place it seems to be replaced by A, coccineus and funereus. 

 It is common as far west as the East Flumboldt Mts. Nevada. It be- 

 gins to bloom in early summer and continues till frost. The pods are 

 like a pellet of wool when dry and blow far, scattering the seeds wide- 

 ly because they rattl* out so slowlj'. It thrives also on loose and dry 

 sandy soil. Roots erect and rather fleshy but not long. This is the 

 most beautiful flower in Utah. 



180 Astragalus inflexus Douglas in Hook. Fl. Bor. Am. 1 151 1834 

 Pods 1.5-3 cm. long, 5-10 mm. wide, and rarelj' 3 mm. high, lanceolate 

 to oval-ovate, occasional forms occur that are only 1 cm. long, from 

 simply hooked at tip to arcuate nearly to a circle, sulcatc ventrally 



