CONTRIBUTIONS TO WESTERN BOTANY. 655 



dish, teeth about }^ the tube, triangular; flowers purple 

 and like those of the type species; pods linear-oblong, i' 

 long, 2}^" wide, either triquetrous or obcompressed, so 

 that the cross -section is linear, sulcate deeply in the 

 triquetrous forms except at base and apex, coriaceous, 

 acute at apex and a little narrowed at base, nearly straight 

 to arcuate to j4, circle, i-celled, ventral suture raised, thin 

 and sharp externally, pods green or mottled; perennial 

 from an erect root; growing in sand. This is liable to 

 prove a new species, and in that case may take the name 

 A. sti^ularis. 



Astragalus dorycnioides Douglas. Mr. Sheldon, 1. c. 9, 

 145, says: " The difficulty which many botanists seem to 

 have had in determining the limits of Astragalus injlexus 

 Douglas and Astragalus Purshii Douglas has probably 

 arisen from the nonconsideration of this species, which 

 is intermediate between the two." Now since there is no 

 room for any intermediate species between these two 

 which almost shade together it becomes interesting to 

 know the character of A. dorycnioides Douglas; the fol- 

 lowing is the description in G. Don, Gen. Syst. Gard. 

 and Bot. 2, 258: "Plant erect, densely clothed with 

 hoary silky villi; leaflets obovate-linear, obtuse; calyx 

 smooth; racenjes longer than the flowers; perennial. 

 Native of North America near the Columbia River. Flow- 

 ers purple. An elegant plant. Stipules distinct and free 

 from the petioles; flowers in dense heads; banner linear 

 and elongated. Pods straight." This plant is undoubt- 

 edly A. succumbens, but the specimens to which Mr. Shel- 

 don has applied this name in the National Herbarium are 

 nearly typical A . Purshii, and have not a single character 

 in common with Douglas' description of A. dorycnioides. 



It seems like stretching a point to extreme tenuity to 

 make a new name for Astragalus Thom^sonce Watson on 



