38 



WILD FLOWERS OF CALIFORNIA 



few reports of locoed animals are brought to the attention of veterinarians. Many 

 of the species, although abundant, are decidedly unpalatable to stock and are only 

 eaten when there is a minimum supply of forage. It is frequently due to the short- 

 age of forage that the habit of eating them is begun with the effect that an 

 insatiable desire for them only is engendered. 



The California species are distributed from sea level to the highest mountain 

 peaks in dry, medium and moist situations, and on all classes of soils. 



Astragalus Homii seems to be the species that has caused more trouble than 

 any other in California. It is found on the eastern side of the Sierras and in the 

 interior valleys. It is a low spreading plant with smooth or minutely pubescent 

 leaves which consist of from seventeen to twenty-one leaflets, and yellowish-white 

 dense clusters of flowers. Each floret is only a quarter of an inch long. The egg- 

 shaped pods are inflated, minutely pubescent and about half an inch long, tapering 

 to a prominent apex. 



The identification of the many species is difficult and much remains to be 

 learned concerning them. In collecting, mature fruits should be secured, as the 

 classification of the species is largely based on the character of the pods. Some 

 botanists have recently divided the genus up into a large number of closely related 

 genera, which can be of value only to the specialist in the group. 



442. Desert Ironwood 



Olneva tesota 



443. Giant Vetch 



Vicia gigantea 



444. American Vetch 



445. California Vetch 



Vicia americana and 

 vars. 



Vicia exigua and vars. 



446. Common Vetch 



Vicia sativa and vars. 



A small tree with 'spines be- 

 low the thick leaves ; no 

 stipules ; white or purplish 

 axillary sprays ; pod thick, 

 rough and leather)-, 1 to 

 2 inches long. Along or 

 near washes, Colorado 

 Desert. 



The common perennial spe- 

 cies along creeks in the 

 Bay region northward. 

 Found climbing up trees 

 and over shrubbery. Pro- 

 fuse sprays of reddish- 

 purple blossoms. Seeds 

 edible. 



Common in the hills and 

 extremely variable as to 

 the height of plant and 

 breadth of leaflets. Flow- 

 ers in sprays, at first pur- 

 plish changing to blue. 



A slender plant 1 to 2 feet 

 high, with about 4 pairs 

 of leaflets and one or two 

 flowers on a slender stalk, 

 white or purplish. Sandy 

 soil, coast ranges, especi- 

 ally south. 



A stout, strong growing 

 vetch escaped from culti- 

 vation to pastures and 

 grain fields where it is 

 frequently sown for for- 

 age and green manuring 

 purposes. Leaflets with a 

 notched apex and one or 

 a pair of sessile flowers 

 in the axils. Thev are 

 about an inch long and 

 violet-purple. One of the 

 best known cover crops 

 for California orchards. 



