LEGUMINOSAE (^POLSB I'AMILV) 616 



31. WISTERIA Nutt. 



Calyx campanulate, somewhat 2-lipped ; upper lip of 2 short teeth, the lower 

 of 3 longer ones. Standard roundish, large, turned bask, with 2 callosities 

 at its base ; keel soytlie-shaped ; wings doubly auricled at the base. Stamens 

 diadelphous. Pods elongated, thickish, knobby, stipitate, many-seeded, at 

 length 2-valved. Seeds large. — Ovate-Ianoeolate leaflets 9-13 ; racemes of large 

 and showy lilac-purple flowers. (Dedicated to Professor Caspar Wistar, dis- 

 tinguished anatomist of Philadelphia.) Kraunhia Kaf. Wistahia Spreug. (a 

 later spelling) . 



1. W. frutfiscens (L.) Poir. Downy or smoothish when old, without club- 

 shaped hairs ; racemes short and dense ; calyx-teeth very short. (^Kraunhia 

 Raf. ; Bradleya Brilton. ) — Alluvial grounds, Va. to Fla. May. — Soaietmics 

 cultivated for ornament as is the still handsomer and more showy Chinese 

 species, W. chinensis DC. 



2. W. macrostachya Nutt. Racemes 1.5-2 dm. long ; pubescence of the pedi- 

 cels and calyx mixed, including club-shaped hairs; calyx-teeth half to three 

 fourths the length of the tube ; standard less strongly auricled than in the pre- 

 ceding. (Kraunhia macrostachys Small ; Bradleya Small.) — Rich soil, swamps, 

 etc., Ind. (?) to Mo., Kan.(?), and La. May. 



32. ASTRAGALUS [Tourn.] L. Milk Vetch 



Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla usually long and narrow ; standard narrow, equal- 

 ing or exceeding the wings and blunt keel, its sides reflexed or spreading. Sta- 

 mens diadelphous. Pod several-many-seeded, various, mostly turgid, one or 

 both sutures usually projecting into the cell, either slightly or so as to divide the 

 cavity lengthwise into two. — Chiefly herbs (ours perennials), with odd-pinnate 

 leaves and spiked or racemed flowers. Mature pods are usually necessary for 

 certain identification of the species. (The ancient Greek name of a leguminous 

 plant, as also of the ankle-bone.) 



§ 1. Pod turgid, completely or imperfectly 2-celled by the intrusion of the dorsal 

 suture, the ventral suture being not at all or less deeply inflexed. 



* Pod plum-shaped, succulent, becoming thick and fleshy, indehiscent, not stipi- 

 tate, completely 2-celled. 



1. A. caryocdrpus Ker. (Ground Plum.) Pale and minutely appre^ed- 

 pubescent ; leaflets narrowly oblong ; flowers in a short spike-like raceme ; 

 corolla violet-purple ; fruit glabrous, ovoid-globular, more or less pointed, about 

 1.6 cm. in diameter, very thick-walled, cellular or corky when dry. (A. crassi- 

 carpus Nutt.) — Prairies, Sask. and Minn, to Mo., s. w. and w. to Tex. and 

 Col. Apr., May. 



2. A. mexic^nus A. DC. (Ground Plum.) Smoother, or pubescent with 

 looser hairs, larger; leaflets roundish, obovate, or oblong; flowers larger (2-2.5 

 cin. long) ; calyx softly hairy ; corolla cream-color, bluish only at the tip ; fruit 

 globular, very obtuse and pointless, 2.5 cm. or more in diameter ; otherwise like 

 the last. — Prairies and open plains, 111. to Kan., s. to La. and Tex. Apr., May. 

 — The unripe fruits of this and the preceding species resemble green plums 

 (whence the poptilar name) and are eaten raw or cooked. 



3. A. plattfinsis Nutt. Loosely villous ; leaflets oblong, often glabrous above ; 

 flowers crowded in a short spike or head, cream-color, often tinged or tipped 

 with purple ; /raft ovoid, pointed, 1.2-1.6 cm. long, with surface even; calyx 

 villous. — Gravelly or sandy banks, Minn, to Col. and Tex. Apr. -June. 



4. A. tennessefinsis Gray. Hirsute ; stipules large ; leaves and flowers as in 

 the last ; fruit 2.4-2.8 cm. long, pointed, strongly wrinkled. {A. plattensis, var. 

 Gray.) — 111., Morris ( Vasey), Ogle Co. (J?e66) ; Tenn. and Ala.; reported also 

 from Mo, Apr., May. 



