246 ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM, 
Spec. Char., §c. Leaflets roundish-elliptic, retuse. Racemes drooping, few- 
flowered. Callosities of standard papilliform. Legumes rather coriaceous, 
pubescent. (Don’s Mill.) A branchy shrub. Nepal. Height 3 ft. to 
1G ft. Flowers yellow; August and September. Legume reddish; ripe in 
Cctober. 
The leaflets are small, and, being more imperfectly developed than in any of 
the other kinds, give it a singular appearance. 
Genus XVII. 
ASTRA’GALUS Dec. Tue Mitx Vetcu. Lin. Syst. Diadélphia 
Decandria. 
Identification. Dec. Astrag., No. 5.; Prod., 2. p. 291.; Don’s Mill., 2. p. 253. 
Synonyme. Astragalus sp. of Lin. and others; Astragale, Fr. ; Tragant, Ger. ; Astragalo, Ital. 
Derivation. From astragalos, a vertebra ; the seeds in the legumes of some species being squeezed 
into a squarish form, so as to look something like the joints of the backbone; or, perhaps, from 
astér, a star, and gala, milk. It is also the name given toa shrub by Greek writers. 
Gen. Char, Calyx 5-toothed. Keel obtuse. Stamens diadelphous. Legume 
bilocular or half-bilocular, trom the upper suture being bent in so much. 
(Don’s Mill.) 
Leaves compound, alternate, stipulate, deciduous; pinnate: petioles per- 
manent. Flowers in the only hardy ligneous species purplish or white. 
— Shrubs, low; natives of the South of Europe and Asia. 
= 1, A. Tracaca’ntHa L. The Goat’s-Thorn Milk Vetch, or Great Goat's 
Thorn. 
Identification. Lin. Sp., 1073. ; Woodv. Med. Bot., 276. t. 98.; Wats. Dend. Brit., 84. 
Synonyme. A. massiliénsis Lam. Dict. 1. p. 320., Dec. Astr. No. 96., Don’s Mill. 2. p. 266. 
ngravings. Pall. Astr., t.4.f.1,2.; Duh. Arb., 2. t. 100.; Woodv. Med. Bot., 276. t. 98 ; Wats. 
Dend. Brit., t. 84. ; and our fig. 405. 
Spec. Char., §c. Peduncles usually 4-flowered, VE 
about equal in length to the leaves. Calyxes att Nan a Z 
cylindrical, with 5 short blunt teeth. Leaves = Nh sie) 
with 9—11 pairs of elliptic hoary leaflets. A) Wy ly vy. ye 
(Don’s Mill.) A low prickly glaucous shrub, NZ . Wah Ney Ne es 
with sub-persistent leaves, and persistent pe- WAS) / Ny 
tioles. Marseilles and Narbonne, in sandy 
places, as well as Corsica and Mauritania. 
Height 6 in. to 1 ft. Introduced in 1640. 
Flowers purplish or white; May to July. 
Legumes tomentose, brown; ripe in Sep- 
tember. General aspect whitish. 
The flowers are disposed on axillary pe- 
duncles, so short as to prevent them from 
being at all conspicuous above the leaves. After the leaflets drop off, the 
petioles become indurated, so as to give the plant the appearance of being 
densely covered with spines. Propagated by seeds, which it sometimes 
ripens in England, or by cuttings. It requires a dry soil, and a sunny 
situation ; and is well adapted for rock-work. 
405. Astragalus Tragacantha, 
Other ligneous Species of Astrégalus.— A. altdicus Lodd. Cab.; A. aristdtus 
L’Herit. Stirp. 170., with yellow flowers, which is figured in Bot. Cab. 
t. 1278., and our fig. 406. ; A. brevifolius, with a purplish flower, figured in 
Bot. Cab. t. 1388., and our fig. 407.; and A. massiliénsis Lam., which is 
probably a variety of A. Tragacantha with white flowers instead of purplish 
