THE PEA FAMILY 
7i 
Slender or Least Bird’s-foot Trefoil. (Lotus angustissimus, Linn.)— Another 
similar plant, much smaller than the Common Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), with flowers 
about half the size, usually solitary, on shorter stalks, yellow ; the calyx-teeth longer than the tube ; 
the pods more slender ; the stems slender, hairy, and more branched ; and the leaves narrower. 
Very rare. South of England, near the sea. June — August. Annual. 
Hispid Bird’s-foot Trefoil. (Lotus hispidus, Desf.)— A similar plant to the Least 
Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotus angustissimus), but with 2-4 flowers together, shorter and thicker pods, 
and stouter stems. 
Very rare. Near the sea in Cornwall and Devon. June — August. Annual. 
MILK-VETCH. (ASTRAGALUS, LINN.) — Flowers clustered in spikes or heads, purple, blue, 
white, or yellow. Calyx bell-shaped or tubular, terminating in 5 equal teeth ; corolla of 5 petals, 
butterfly-shaped (papilionaceous); stamens 10, 9 united into a sheath, the upper one free (diadel- 
phous) ; carpel 1. Pod long, cylindrical or inflated, more or less divided lengthwise into 2 cells by 
a central partition proceeding from the opposite side to which the seeds are attached. Herbs or 
undershrubs with leaves divided to the midrib into numerous pairs of leaflets, usually with 1 terminal 
one (imparipinnate) ; with stipules. 
Alpine Milk-Vetch. (Astragalus alpinus, Linn.) — As just described. The flowers i inch 
long, few, drooping, white tinged with lilac, in short, close clusters (racemes), terminating long 
stalks ; the calyx clothed with black hairs ; the corolla three times as long as the calyx ; the pod 
hanging (pendulous), covered with black hairs, imperfectly 2-celled. The stems 2-4 inches long, 
prostrate; the leaves 2-5 inches long, divided to the midrib into 8-10 pairs of leaflets, with one 
terminal one (imparipinnate), all oblong or egg-shaped (ovate) ; the stipules egg-shaped (ovate), 
not adhering to the leaf-stalk. 
Very rare. Mountains in Perthshire, Aberdeenshire, and Forfarshire. July. Perennial. 
Purple Milk-veteh. (Astragalus danieus, Retz.)— A similar plant with dense, oval 
heads of larger purple flowers, erect hairy pods, and stipules united at the base so as to form a 
sheath (connate). 
Rare. Eastern counties of England and Scotland. June — July. Perennial. 
Sweet Milk-veteh. (Astragalus glyeyphyllos, Linn.)— A larger species, the flowers 
| inch long, cream-coloured, numerous, in short, dense, oval clusters ; the pods erect, curved, 
and smooth; the stems 2-3 feet long, zigzag, smooth, light green; the leaflets in 5-7 pairs, with 1 
terminal one ; and the stipules not united and not adhering to the leaf-stalk. 
Not common. Principally in the south and east of England, more rare in Wales and Scotland ; 
in woods, borders of fields, etc. June — July. Perennial. 
OXYTROPIS. (OXYTROPIS, DC .) — Herbs only differing from the Milk-vetches in the keel of 
the corolla ending in an abrupt point ; in the partition dividing the pod proceeding from the side 
to which the seeds are attached ; and in the leaves always having a terminal leaflet (imparipinnate). 
Purple or Hairy Mountain Oxytropis. (Oxytropis uralensis, DC.)— As just 
described. The flowers f inch long, purple, in a compact, oval head, on a long stalk coming 
from the root (scape) ; the calyx hairy, half the length of the corolla ; the keel of the corolla 
ending in a short, abrupt point ; the pod erect, silky, nearly completely divided into 2 cells by a 
central partition. The whole plant stemless with a short, woody root-stock, bearing the old 
leaf-stalks and stipules ; the leaves all from the root (radical), covered with silky hair, divided to 
