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185 Astragalus Layneae Greene Bull. Cal. Acad. 3 156 (1885). 

 Pods 3-5 cm. long, arched even to a ciride at times, long-acuminate, 

 narrowed below and short-stipitate, when fresh, somewhat fleshy, with 

 walls 1 mm. thick and with cross-section about reniiorm, when dry the 

 pod.s are triquetrous and very broadly sulcate dorsally from the base 

 toward the tip but conspicuously flattened laterally above, the dorsal 

 suture intruded about half way but not as a thin partition, being simply 

 unchanged sides of the sulcus united for a space 1-2 mm. wide, to the 

 middle at least, where the pods arc 1-celled to the tip. pods mottled, 

 shortly and thinly apprc-sed-hairy, to almost smooth, with ventral 

 suture raised and thin externally, sometimes the pods are completely 

 cumpressed and with linear cross-section, they are then very falcate. 

 they arc reflexed or ascending. Flowers conspicuously white and with 

 oiuy the tips purple, 1.5 cm. long, racemose, many, rather stubby 

 Banner mostly white, about 7 mm. long, oval-ovate, with sides reflexed 

 3 mm. wide below, abruptly arcuate to 45 degrees just beyond calyx, 

 with sides refleN.ed to the tip making the blade appear triangular, the 

 very tip purple or purple-veined, white spot obcordate and striate, the 

 groove V-shaped and 2 mm. deep and reaching the tip. Wings linear- 

 cuneate, a little over 2 mm. wide, at tip, rounded, straight or a little 

 arcuate, concave to keel, with tips meeting, about half as wide as keel, 

 purple 3 mm. back from tip. Keel straight, about 5 mm. long, abrupt- 

 ly erect and 3 mm. high, the tip dark and deltoid. Calyx almost cam- 

 panulate, hardly 5 mm long and 4 mm. wide, the upper side arched and 

 the lower straight, truncate below and inserted near the corner on a 

 very short and stout pedicel, dark with short and appressed hairs, thin, 

 with teeth black, triangular and about 1 mm. long. Bracts ovate to 

 ovate-lanceolate, barely 4 mm. long, sparsely hairy above. Peduncles 

 stout and strict, from shorter than the leaves to much longer, 1-3 dm. 

 long and with the floral rachis nearly as much more, l^eaves with 

 short petioles which are about a third the whole and stout but taper- 

 ing but little. Leaflets about 6-8 pairs, hardly contiguous, oval, about 

 1 cm. long, long-petiolulate, sometimes notched, rather closely ap- 

 pressed-puberulent with tangled and long hairs and inclined to be sil- 

 very. .Stipules deltoid or very broad, rarely 1 cm. long. Proper stems 

 from almost. none to a foot long, very zigzag (that is bent abruptly at 

 each node, in distinction from flexuous which can mean bent between 

 the nodes), with internodes rarely 2 cm. long, several from slender 

 root-branches. Leaves mostly flat on the ground. This grows on the 

 gravelly desert benches in the lower part of the Lower Temperate life 

 zone, blooming in April, and seeming to thrive best in rather sandy 

 places. From Chloride .Arizona to .Amargosa desert and westward to 

 the Sierras. 



Astragalus amphioxys x Layneae. This is a hybrid occurring on 

 the eastern border where it has the pods of .A., amhioxys but either 

 wholl} 1-cclled or jxirtly so and more fleshy than Layneae, and with 

 the leaves and flowers of that species. 



Astragalus malacus x Layneae. This is a rare hybrid on the wes- 

 tern border with the flowers and pubescence of A. Layneae, and pods 

 var3ing toward A. amphio.xys. 



187 Astragalus succumbens Douglas in Hook. Fl. Bor. Am. 1 151 

 (1834). Pods about 4 cm. long. 5 mm. high, and 2 mm. wide, w^ith the 

 cross-section linear-triquetrous, ascending (but the calyx nearly hori- 

 zontal), arched to about one third circle, splitting the calyx, main-, 

 spicate, delicately cross-nerved, with declined and short tip. Flowers 

 ascending, nearly white and with jiink-purple base. Banner oblong- 

 ovate, about 8-10 mm. long and 7 mm. wide, very deeply notched and 

 water-lined, with sides not reflexed, gently arcuate at calyx tips to 

 erect, groove U-shaped below and widening to nothing above and fil- 

 ling about one tihrd of the banner. Wings almost straight, as long 

 as banner and very conspicuous. 3-4 mm. wide, rounded, lacerate at tip. 



