( 369 .) 
HI PPOCRE'PIS * *. 
Linnean Class and Order. Diade'lphia f, Deca'ndria. 
Natural Order. Legumino's^, Juss. Gen. PI. p. 345. — Sm. 
Gram, of Bot. p. 174. — Lindl. Syn. p. 75. ; Introd. to Nat. Syst. of 
Bot. p. 87. — Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 532. — Sm. Engl. FI. v. iii. p. 
259. — Loud. Hort. Brit. p. 509. — Don’s Gen. Syst. of Gard. and 
Bot. v. ii. p. 91. — Hook. Brit. FI. (4th ed.) p. 404. — Mack. Fl.Hib. 
p. 73. — Legumina'ce.-e, Loud. Arb. Brit. p. 561. — Papiliona'- 
ceaj J, Linn. — Rosales; sect. Cicerin/e ; subsect. Lotian^e ; 
type, Lotace^e ; subtype, Hedysarid^e ; Burn. Outl. of Bot. 
pp. 614, 638, 642, & 657. 
Gen. Char. Calyx (fig. 1.) inferior, bell-shaped, permanent, 
divided, about half way down, into 5, pointed, spear-shaped seg- 
ments ; the 2 uppermost shortest, and less deeply separated. 
Corolla (fig. 2.) papilionaceous, of 5 petals, their claws longer than 
the calyx ; standard (fig. 3.) heart-shaped, ascending, with a vaulted 
claw ; wings (fig. 4.) inversely egg-shaped, blunt, with flat broadish 
claws; keel (fig. 5.) of 2 combined petals, rounded, pointed, with 
very narrow separate claws. Filaments (see fig. 6.) 10; 9 united 
into a tube, open at the upper edge ; the tenth quite distinct ; all 
curved upwards at the extremity. Anthers roundish. Germen 
slender, compressed, tapering into an awl-shaped ascending style. 
Stigma strap-shaped, rather flattened, quite smooth. Legume 
(fig. 7.) compressed, partly membranous, incurved, of several 
joints, each containing one seed, and curved like a horse-shoe (see 
fig. 8.) ; whence the upper edge of the legume appears as if cut 
into several rounded recesses. Seeds (fig. 9.) cylindrical or com- 
pressed, oblong, atiached to the middle part of each curvature. 
The smooth style ; and the compressed, partly membranous, 
incurved legume, of many joints, which are curved like a horse- 
shoe ; will distinguish this from other genera, with diadelphous 
stamens, in the same class and order. 
One species British. 
HIPPOCRE'PIS COMO'SA. Tufted Horse-shoe Vetch. 
Spec. Char. Legumes from 5 to 8, in an umbellate tuft, crowded, 
pedunculated, curved, rough, sinuated on both margins. 
Engl. Bot. t. 31. — Jacq. FI. Austr. vol. v. p. 14. t. 431. — Linn. Sp. PI. p. 1050. — 
Huds. FI. Angl. (2nd edit.) p. 321. — Willd. Sp. PI. v. iii. pt. n. p. 1159. — Sm. FI. 
Brit. v. ii. p. 777. ; Engl. FI. v. iii. p. 291. — With. (7th ed.) v. iii. p. 848. — Gray’s 
Nat. Arr. v. ii. p. 618. — Lindl. Syn. p. 88.— Hook. Brit. FI. p. 326. — Macr. Man. 
Brit. Bot. p. 57. — Don’s Gen. Syst. of Gard. and Bot. v. ii. p. 277. f. 42. — Sibth. 
FI. Oxon. p.226. — Abbot’s FI. Bedf. p. 159. — Relh. FI. Cant. (3rd edit. ) p.296. — 
Purt. Midi. FI. v. iii. p. 62. — Hook. FI. Scot. p. 216. — FI. Devon, pp. 123 & 175. — 
Winch’s FI. of Northumbl. and Durli. p. 48. — Walker’s FI. of Oxf. p. 210. — Bab. 
FI. Bath. p. 13. — Irv. Lond. FI. p. 176. — Luxf. Reig. FI. p. 64. — Cow. FI. Guide, 
Fig. 1. Calyx. — Fig. 2. Calyx and Corolla. — Fig. 3. Standard. — Fig. 4. One of 
the Wings. — Fig. 5. The Keel. — Fig. 6. Stamens. — Fig. 7. A Legume. — Fig. 8. A 
separate joint of ditto. — Fig. 9. A Seed. 
* From hippos, Gr. a horse ; and krepis, Gr. a shoe ; in reference to the shape 
of the recesses of the pods, which are curved in such a manner as to give them a 
likeness to a horse’s shoe. Don. 
+ See folio 77, note t. 
f See folio 117, note f. 
