100 
LEGUMINOSAE 
10. L. stiversi Kellogg. Plants 15 to 45 cm. high, the branches 
ascending; leaves lorfg-petioled, appressed-pubescent both sides; racemes 
1 to 3 cm. long, few-flowered; flowers about 15 mm. long; banner bright 
yellow, the wings rose-pink or purple; keel nearly straight; pods about 
20 mm. long; seeds flat, angled.—Sierra Nevada; San Bernardino Mts. 
11. L. latifolius Agardh. Plants 6 to 12 dm. high; leaves largest 
near the middle of the stem; petioles and leaflets 4 to 10 cm. long, the 
latter 10 to 30 mm. wide; racemes 15 to 45 cm. long, rather lax; flowers 
10 to 14 mm. long, whorled or scattered; bracts early deciduous; calyx 
minutely bracteolate; petals blue or purple, rarely yellowish, fading 
brown; banner suborbicular, glabrous; wings truncate or incurved on 
lower free margin, the keel somewhat exposed; pods dark brown, about 
3 cm. long by 6 to 8 mm. wide.—Humboldt Co. to Los Angeles Co. 
12. L. arboreus Sims. Tree Lupine. Branching shrub with a dis¬ 
tinct trunk or rarely low and caespitose, 4 to 24 dm. high; racemes 10 to 
30 cm. long; flowers 14 to 18 mm. long, scattered or whorled; petals 
broad, commonly bright yellow, but sometimes lilac, blue, or violet; ban¬ 
ner suborbicular, glabrous; keel curved; pods dark brown, 5 to 8 cm. 
long by 8 to 12 mm. wide.—Coastal sands and canons, Humboldt Co.*to 
Santa Barbara Co. 
13. L. chamissonis Esch. Erect branching shrub 3 to 9 dm. high; 
leaves many, silky on both sides; racemes 6 to 15 cm. long; flowers 12 
to 16 mm. long, scattered or subverticillate; petals blue or lavender, the 
banner with a yellow center, pubescent on the back near apex; keel arcu¬ 
ate; pods brown.—San Francisco to Los Angeles Co. 
14. L. albifrons Benth. Somewhat tree-like shrub 6 to 15 dm. high; 
herbage appressed silvery-silky; leaves many; leaflets 7 to 10; racemes 8 
to 30 cm. long; flowers 10 to 14 mm. long, whorled; bracts early de¬ 
ciduous; petals blue or purplish, the banner more or less pubescent on the 
back near the apex, with white or yellow center early changing to 
violet; keel narrowed toward the base; pods dull yellow, 3 to 5 cm. long, 
about 8 mm. wide.—Coast Ranges. 
15. L. formosus Greene. Plants 3 to 8 dm. tall; racemes 10 to 25 cm. 
long; flowers usually whorled, 12 to 16 mm. long; petals rich purple, blue, 
lilac or white; banner suborbicular, 11 to 14 mm. wide; keel slender; 
pods silky, 30 to 35 mm. long.—Butte Co. to San Diego Co. 
5. MEDICAGO L. Medick 
Herbs. Leaves pinnate with 3 leaflets. Flowers small, in racemes or 
short spikes on axillary peduncles. Stamens diadelphous (9 and 1). Pod 
small, 1 to several-seeded, not splitting open, incurved, coiled or spirally 
twisted. (Greek Medike, name given by Dioscorides to a plant from 
Media, perhaps lucern.) 
1. M. sativa L. Alfalfa. Perennial; herbage glabrous or slightly 
pubescent; leaflets oblong-obovate or linear-oblong, 1.2 to 2.4 cm. long; 
flowers blue, 1 cm. long, disposed in racemes; pod spirally twisted into 2 
or 3 coils.—Cult. It is a native of western Asia and has been cultivated 
for 20 centuries. Brought to California in 1854, it is our “King of For¬ 
age Plants,” often producing ten tons of hay per acre each year. As a 
