O'robuS.'] XXVI. LEGUMINOSiE : VICIE^. 



115 



legumes. 



p 



E. B. t. 1046. — a. compact robust, leaflets obovate-elliptical 

 obtuse on a recurved common petiole. — /3, straggling, slender, 

 leaflets elliptical-lanceolate acute, common petiole straight. 



Pebbly beach of Lincolnshire, Suffolk, and the south coast of Eng- 

 land. Kerry, Ireland. — j8, Burraforth, Unst, Shetland. 2/.. 7,8. 



The style of this plant is as in Lathyrus, to which Bigelow has re- 

 moved it. The var. j8., brought by Dr. M'Nab from Shetland in 1837, 

 in its slender straggling habit and narrow leaves comes very near the 

 i. Altaicus Ledeb., but that has much smaller stipules and cylindrical 



The same form is found in Iceland and Arctic America. 



19. O'robus Linn. Bitter-vetch. 



Cal. obtuse at the base, oblique at the mouth, its upper seg- 

 ments deeper and shorter. Style linear, downy above. — Leaves 

 pinnate^ without tendrils. — Name : opoj, to strengthen or invi- 

 goraie^ and ^ovq^ an o-r, because yielding food for cattle; or 

 rather originally from the Celtic erw or ar, i3l ploughed field ; 

 whence come Arvum, Ervum, herba, and many other words in 

 Latin and Greek. 



1. O. tuherosus L. (tuberous B.) ; leaflets 2 — 4 pairs glaucous 

 beneath, stipules half arrow-shaped toothed at the base, stem 

 simple erect winged. — a, leaflets oblong or lanceolate, apiculate. 

 E. B. t. 1153. Lath, macrorhizus Wimm. -rrr- j3. leaflets linear. 

 0. tenuifolius Roth. 



Mountain-thickets, frequent, 

 Inverness-shire ; near El<:^in, 

 Hants. 



-j8. Kinnaird ; and Moy Woods, 



Devon, Cornwall. New Forest, 



Ashdown Forest, Sussex. Ij., 5 — 7. — Roots tuberous, eaten 



by the Highlanders, under the name of Cairme'd (supposed to be the 

 chara of Caesar, Bell Civ. iii. 48.), a very small quantity being said 

 to allay or prevent hunger. Stem 1 ft. high. Flowers in long-stalked 

 axillary racemes^ purple, veined. Legume long, pendulous, cylindrical, 

 black. Seeds globose. 



^ 2. 0. niger L. (Idach B.) ; leaflets 3 — 6 pairs ovate or ellip- 

 tical, stipules linear-lanceolate acute, stem branched angular 

 erect. E. B. S. t. 2788. Lathyrus Wimm. 



Shaded rocks, Scotland. Den of Airly, Forflirshire. Pass of 

 Killicrankie, Perthshire. Craiganain, a rock within 2 niiles of Moy 

 House, Inverness-shire. %. 6, 7. — Turns black when drying. Stem 

 not win2;ed. Lower stipules half-arrow shaped, npper ones almost 

 subulate. Seeds oval. 



Ord. XXVIL EOSACEiE. 



Calyx 4 — 5-lobed, free or adherent, with the ovari/. Petals 5^ 

 perigynous, equal. /Sfome/z^perigynous, definite or indefinite, with 

 an incurved aestivation ; an^Aers 2^celled, bursting longitudinally 



