RYDBERG: NOTES ON FABACEAE—I 179 
Astragalus caespitosus Pallas. On this account Sheldon sub- 
stituted the name A. spatulatus. In the meantime O. Kuntze 
had transferred all species of Astragalus to T. ragacantha. M.E. 
Jones* has made A. caespitosus a variety of A. simplicifolius 
(Nutt.) A. Gray, probably because he did not understand the 
latter species, which is discussed below. Macbride has followed 
Jones. 
2. HOMALOBUS BRACHYCARPUS Nutt. Gray, Watson, Shel- 
don, Jones, and Macbride have regarded this as a synonym of 
H. caespitosus. Nuttall distinguished it by its shorter, broader 
and more abruptly acute pod and by its smaller size. I take 
it to be the same as the plant described and figured by Watson 
in King’s Report under the name Astragalus simplicifolius Gray, 
although the leaves of Nuttall’s specimens are narrower than 
those figured by Watson. Evidently Jones has followed Watson 
in his interpretation, for he has shown the close relationship 
between what he called A. simplicifolius and A. caespitosus, and 
afterwards went so far as to make the latter a variety of A. 
simplicifclius. The plant described and figured by Watson, 
however, is not the same as Phaca stmplicifoia Nutt.; if it is 
not H. brachycarpus it is without a name. The duplicate of 
Nuttall’s type of H. brachycarpus in the Torrey Herbarium 
strongly resembles Watson’s plant but is somewhat taller and 
has narrower leaves. That in the Gray Herbarium is different 
and is exactly like the type of H. canescens; it does not agree 
with the description of H. brachycarpus. The following speci- 
mens belong to the latter:— 
Wyominc: hills on the Platte, Nuttall; northwestern Wyo- 
ming, Jones 68; Big Horn Mountains, Tweedy 136; Laramie 
Plains, 1897, Osterhout; Fort Steele, Tweedy 4193; Pine Bluffs, 
A. Nelson 2877; Natrona, A. Nelson 142; Laramie, A. Nelson 
31, 7289; Fort Bridger, Lauderdale. 
UtaH: Unitah Mountains, Goodding 1285; Wasatch Moun- 
tains, Watson 289. 
3. HoMALosus simpticirotius (Nutt.) Rydb. There are 
several points in the original description of Nuttall’s Phaca 
stmplicifolia that do not fit Watson’s plant, such as the following: 
“scapes 1-2-flowered, scarcely exserted;” “legumes glabrous, 
* Proc. Calif. Acad. II. 5: 647. 1895. 
