146 LEG-UMINOS^I. Astragalus. 



I. Species ivith an annual root, all low, mostly small. 

 § 1. Pod strongly transversely vjrinkled, didymons, 2-seeded. 



1. A. didymocarpus, Hook. & Arn. Slender, from 3 inches to a foot high, 

 pubescent with some tine and rather scattered hairs, those of the peduncle and 

 calyx blackish : leaflets 9 to 15, narrowly, oblong to linear and more or less cune- 

 ate, deeply notched at the apex : spike an inch or much less in length, close : 

 flowers 1J to 2£ lines long : corolla white and violet, its keel inflexed at tip : pod 

 not over two lines long, short-oval and deeply 2-lobed lengthwise so as to be 

 divided into two cells, each nearly filled by the single proportionally large seed. — 

 Bot. Beechey, 334, t. 81. A. Catalinensis & A. nigrescens, Nutt. PI. Gamb. 152. 



Low grounds and slopes, common through the western part of the State from Marin Co. south- 

 ward, flowering in spring. Like most annuals varying greatly in size and robustness. 



§ 2. Pod not wrinkled, few — many-seeded. 



* Calyx hlachish-hairy, much shorter than the violet or white and violet-tipped corolla : 

 pod not inflated, between oblong and linear : flowers few and nearly sessile, crotvded 

 in a small head ivhich does not lengthen in fruit. 



2. A. tener, Gray. Slender, a span or so in height, sparsely and minutely 

 pubescent : leaflets 9 to 15, linear or cuneate-linear, with or without a retuse or 

 notched apex : head 5 - 9-flowered : pod between coriaceous and cartilaginous, 

 about half an inch long, 2-celled, 5-10-seeded. — Proc. Am. Acad. vi. 206. 

 Phaca astragalina, var., Hook. & Arn. Bot. Beechey, 334. Astragalus Hypoglottis, 

 var. strigosa, Kellogg, Proc. Calif. Acad. ii. 115, fig. 37. 



Moist grounds, common around San Francisco Bay, &c. Corolla i or 5 lines long, often bright 

 violet, sometimes pale and violet-tipped. 



3. A. Breweri, Gray, 1. c. Much like the preceding : leaflets broader, oblong- 

 obcordate : forming pod more ovate, 6-ovuled, and 1-celled or nearly so. 



Sonoma Valley, common in fields, Brewer. N"ot since met with ; the fruit unknown. Per- 

 haps not distinct from the preceding. 



* ».v Calyx ivhitish-haired or nearly so : pod linear : flowers few and crowded at the 



apex of the peduncle. 



4. A. Nuttallianus, DC. More or less pubescent or hoary with white ap- 

 pressed hairs, soon diffusely branched from the base: leaflets 11 or 13, oblong or 

 broadly linear and mostly notched at the end : calyx-teeth slender and as long as 

 the tube: corolla whitish and purple, about 3 fines long; the keel with the inflexed 

 tip narrowed : pod over half an inch long, laterally flatfish, slightly scythe-shaped, 

 the incurvation mostly near the base, deeply grooved on the back, acutish on the 

 other edge, 2-celled, several-seeded; the surface minutely reticulated, either glabrous 

 or with minute appressed hairs. 



Southeastern borders of the State (on the Rio Colorado, Newberry), and east to Texas and 

 Arkansas. 



* * * Ccdyx tvhite-pubescent or canescent : pod ovate and inflated : flowers racemose. 



5. A. Geyeri, Gray. Strigosely somewhat hoary, branching from the base, a 

 span high : leaflets 7 to 11, linear, less than half an inch long: raceme 3-7-flowered : 

 corolla yellowish-white, 3 lines long : pod thin-bladdery, half an inch long, very 

 oblique and the acute tip incurved, minutely hoary-pubescent, 1-celled, many-seeded. 

 — Phaca annua, Geyer. 



~W. Nevada, not far from the boundary ( Watson) ; thence east to Wyoming, Geyer, Parry. 



6. A. Coulteri, Benth. A span to a foot high, stouter, tomentose-canescent or 

 the leaves silvery-silky : leaflets 9 to 19, obovate or oblong, sometimes emarginate, 

 3 to 5 lines long: raceme or spike loosely 10- 20-flowered : calyx-teeth shorter 



