J. 74 THE PEATLOMTEE TEIBE. 



1. Yelloiv Oxytrope. Oxsrtropis campestris, DC. 



{Astragalus, Eng. Bot. t. 2522.) 



Stock short imd tufted, covered with the old stipules and leafstalks, 

 seldom lengthening into shortly ascending branches ; the leaves and pedun- 

 cles usually proceeding from the stock. Leaflets 10 to 15 pairs, with an 

 odd one, oblong or lanceolate, and hauy ; the common leafstalk 2 or 3 

 inches long. Peduncles rather longer, with a short spike of pale yeUow 

 flowers, tinged with purple. Calyx liairy, 4 or 5 hnes long ; corolla twice 

 that length ; tlie point of the keel short, straight, and erect. Pod erect, 

 ovoid, covered with short, usually black, hairs; the partition projecting to 

 about the centre of the cavity. . 



In mountain pastures, and on alpine rocks, common in the great moun- 

 tain ranges and Arctic regions of Europe, Russian Asia, and northern 

 America. In Britain only in one spot, among the Clova mountains of 

 Scotland. Fl. stimmer. 



2. Purple Oxytrope. Oxytropis uralensis, DC. 



{Astragaliis, Eng. Bot. t. 466, not exaH as to the point of the keel. 

 O. Halleri, Bab. Man.) 



Stock short and tufted, with the foUage, inflorescence, and pod of the 

 yellow O., but the whole plant is much more densely covered with soft, 

 silky hairs ; the flowers are of a bright purple, and the pod is more com- 

 pletely divided into two cells. The point of the keel is short and straight, 

 as in the yelloio O. 



In mountain pastures, in central Europe and Russian Asia, descending to 

 a low level in the north, and penetrating far into the Arctic regions. Not 

 uncommon in Scotland, m di-y, hUly pastures, chiefly near the sea, but does 

 not descend to England. Fl. summer. 



XIII. ARTHROLOBE. ARTHROLOBIUM. 



Slender, spreading, glr.brous annuals, with pinnate leaves and axillary 

 peduncles, bearing an umbel of minute flowers, without any bract. Calyx 

 tubular. Pod cylindrical, curved, separating, when ripe, into several one- 

 seeded articles. 



A germs of very few species, chiefly south European, scarcely distinct 

 from Coronilla, and differing from Bird^s-foot chiefly in the want of the 

 leaf to the umbel. 



1. Sand Arthrolobe. Arthrolobium ebracteattun, DC. 



(Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2844.) 



Stems very slender, spreading on the ground to the length of 6 inches. 

 Leaflets 9 to 15, small, obovate or oblong, the lowest pan- at some distance 

 from the stem. Stipules very small. Peduncles very slender, with an 

 umbel of from 2 to 5 minute, yellow flowers. Pod about an inch long, 

 slender, curved, ending in a short, hooked beak, and separating into several 

 linear articles. 



In sandy situations, near the sea, chiefly in south-western Europe, ex- 

 tending nearly all round the Mediterranean, and northward, up western 



