— 188 — 
The small red flowers which appear in May or June 
are arranged in small terminal racemes. The fruit is a pod, 
6 mm. in length, densely coated with white hairs and con- 
taining 1—2 seeds. 
The leaf is isolateral in structure. The epidermis is 
covered with bipartite hairs on short bases, and has stomata 
on both sides, not sunk. There are 2—4 layers of palisade 
cells (filled with starch) on each side, and 1—3 layers of 
translucent cells surround the veins. The larger veins have 
sclerenchyma on the phloem side. Sometimes, though rarely, 
lignified bast-cells issue from this bast-sheath and traverse the 
palisade layers till they reach the epidermis (fig. 34). “Speicher- 
tracheiden” are found in great numbers in the mesophyll. 
Among the palisade cells are a few translucent, globular 
bodies which seem to consist of mucilage. 
The green bark of the young branches has 
about 4 layers of short palisade cells below a 
single-layered, hairy epidermis. Bast bundles 
are found outside the vascular bundles. 
Closely related to Astragalus unifoliatus are 
a number of other shrubby species of Astragalus 
Fig) 34 Astra, © 8 A. Ammodendron, paucijugus, hyrcanus, 
galus unifolia- villosissimus, macrocladus, brachypus, squarrosus. 
ae Se All belong to the section Ammodendron which 
tion ofleafwith is characterised by connate, clasping stipules, 
Men by a small inflated hairy and few-seeded pod 
ertracheïde”. and by the frequency of persistent petioles. 
ARR: The section belongs to the sub-genus Cercido- 
thrix, characterised by bipartite hairs. A. brachylobus with 
the same type of fruit, and A. sleroxylon with linear, curved 
pods also belong to this group. 
All the species named are early flowering shrubs or 
dwarf shrubs with a few small and hairy leaflets. In some 
of them the petiole persists till next summer though dead, 
thus in A. paucijugus, hyrcanus, villosissimus, squarrosus and 
perhaps others; in the first-named it attains a length of 
about 30 centimetres. The shoots are often curved and the 
bark in older branches is fibrous. In some of them the 
