Stems 6 12 inches long. Flowers violet-purple. Fruiting racemes prostrate.
Legume the size of an ordinary plum. Nutt.—We have neverreceived specimens
of this plant.
J^ '^ ! a^^ens,s (Nutt.! mss.) : !< stems numerous, nearly prostrate, hirsute
With whitish spreading hairs; stipules broadly ovate, acute; leaflets 8-12
pairs, elliptical or oblong; peduncles shorter than the leaves ; racemes short;
bracts about twice as long as the pedicels; calyx pilose with daikish hairs,
oblong ; legume thick and fleshy, broadly ovate, acuminate, somewhat com-
pressed, pilose.”—A. caryocarpus, Torr ! in ann. lyc. New-York, 2. p. .179.
Plains of the Pi a Up, Nutt all ! Dv. Jciw.es ! May.—Stems 6—10 inches long.
Leaflets mostly obtuse3 on th.e lo,west leaves obovate. Racemes 6—10 flow-
exed : flowers pale purple, larger than in the preceding species. Teeth of
the calyx nearly half the length of the tube. Fruit the size ol a small plum.
15. A. trichocalyx (Nutt.! mss.) ; stems numerous, decumbent, somewhat
pilose with appressed hairs; stipules lanceolate; leaflets 10-16 pairs,
elliptical-oblong, obtuse ; peduncles about the length of the leaves ; racemes
short and crowded; bracts a little longer than the pedicels; calyx densely
villous with mostly whitish hairs ; the teeth subulate, scarcely half the length
of the tube; legume thick and somewhat fleshy, glabrous, finely wrinkled
transversely.” . ’ 3
Plains ol Arkansas, Nuttall! & Dr. Leavenworth I who also found it in
Texas 1—Closely allied to A. caryocarpus, from which it differs, according to
Nuttall, in its more numerous leaflets, paler flowers, and densely villous calyx.
This and the two preceding species are remarkable for their succulent
legumes, which are filled with a sweetish and rather agreeable juice, so that,
as Mr. Nuttall informs us, they were frequently collected by the party with
which he travelled, as an article of food.
t 11 Legumes curved.
16. A. pachycarpus; procumbent, diffuse, canescently hirsute with appressed
hairs ; stipules ovate, acuminate; leaflets 8-16 pairs, elliptical and ob-
long-obovate ; peduncles much shorter than the leaves ; (spikes few-flowered?)
bracts lanceolate, scarcely long as as the short pedicels; legumes ovate,
coriaceous, very turgid and dilated laterally, somewhat curved, with a short
beak, indexed at each suture, 2-celled, slightly wrinkled transversely.
Prairies of Arkansas, Dr, Leavenworth!—Stems 6-10 inches long,
branched. Leaflets half an inch long, obtuse, or rather acute. Flowers not
seen. Legume an inch long and half an inch broad, rounded at the base,
with a deep furrow at each suture : cells 4-5 seeded...—Resembles A. caryocarpus
in habit and foliage, but the fruit is entirely distinct.
17. A. succumbens (Dough) : every part hirsute ; stem procumbent, flex-
uous, branched ; stipules small, oblong, acuminate; leaflets 5 pairs, obovate ;
peduncles shorter than the leaves; racemes capitate, oval; flowers (rather
large) spreading, loose; bracts linear-subulate, longer than the very short pedicels
; calyx loosely hirsute; legumes linear-lanceolate, falcate, glabrous and
shining, bicarinate, 2-celled, many-seeded. Hook. ft. Bor.-Am,. 1. p. 151.
Barren grounds of the Oregon and near the Walla wallah, Douglas.—
Flowers large, purple and white. Legumes about two inches long, carinate
on one side, with a deep furrow on the other, so that a transverse section
represents the letter V. Hook. IS.*
IS. A. obcordatus (Ell.) : nearly glabrous, procumbent or assurgent; leaflets
7-12 pairs, obcordate, or obovate-oblong; peduncles about as long as the
leaves; spikes 8-15-flowered, ovate or roundish, rather loose; calyx hairy;
the teeth subulate, about as long as the tube; legumes oblong, triangular, a
little curved, acute at each end, strongly reticulatèd, the upper suture acute,
the lower one deeply sulcate.—Ell. sk. 2. p. 227.
Bluffs on the St. Mary’s River, Georgia, Baldwin! Newbern, N. Carolina,
and Middle Florida, Groom ! Dr. Chapman !—Plant 4-8 inches
long. Leaves numerous: leaflets 3-4 lines long; those of the radical leaves
very sma:l and roundish. Stipules lanceolate, b lowers 4-5 lines long, white
mixed with pale blue, distinctly pedicellate. Legume an inch in length, with
a very acute and rather long point, but not acuminated.
20. A.distortus: sparsely pubescent, prostrate ; leaflets 8-12 pairs, oblong
or obovate, sometimes elliptical, usually emarginate ; peduncles longer than
the leaves; spike roundish or oblong, 10- 20-flowered, loose; calyx clothed
with blackish hairs ; the teeth broad, acuminate, about half the length ol the
tube ; legumes oblong, somewhat inflated, often somewhat twisted, abruptly
pointed, scarcely reticulated; upper suture slightly inflexed ; the lower one
deeply sulcate.
Arkansas, Nuttall! Dr. Leavenworth! Texas, Drummond! Dr. Leavenworth
! May .—Stem 8-15 inches long. Lower leaflets often much smaller
than the upper ones, and broader in proportion to their length. Flowers
about half an inchlong, blue, and sometimes (apparently) nearly white. Calyx
about one-third the length of the corolla; the teeth almost villous. Legumes
about 8 lines long, abruptly curved in the middle, sessile.—Very near
the preceding species. The leaflets are usually narrower, the teeth of the calyx
shorter, and clothed with black hairs ; and the legume is quite different.
21. A. diaphanus (Dough): prostrate and diffuse, pilose-scabrous; stipules
small, ovate, acuminate, leaflets 5-9 pairs, obovate ; peduncles shorter
than the leaves; flowers (small) in loose heads; bracts minute, ovate, acuminate,
rather shorter than the pedicels ; legumes falcate, somewhat reflexed,
linear, compressed, somewhat diaphanous, nearly glabrous 2-celled, many-
seeded. Hook.fl. Bor-Am. 1. p. 151.
Sandy soil near the Great Falls of the Oregon. Flowers scarcely more
than half an inch long, purple, fading when dry to nearly white. Legume
scarcely an inch long, flattened laterally. Hook.
22. A. lentiginosus (Dough) : prostrate, somewhat glabrous ; stipules small
ovate, acute ; leaflets about 8 pairs, obovate ; peduncles shorter than the
leaves ; flowers . . . . ; legumes ovate, acuminate, membranaceous, curved upwards,
inflated at the base, 2-celled, somewhat glabrous. Hook. ft. Bor.-Am
1. p. 151.
’ Subalpine ranges of the Blue Mountains of Oregon, Douglas.—Resembles
A. tuberculosus, a native of Syria and Cappadocia. Hook.
22. A. inflexus (Dough) : prostrate, diffuse, whole plant very villous-to-
mentose ; stem flexuous ; stipules rather large, ovate ; leaflets 9-10 pairs, elliptical
and rather acute, or obovate an dotnuse; peduncles longer than the leaves
racemes loose, oval ; bracts subulate, nearly as long as the membranaceous
calyx; legumes ovate, acuminate, depressed, somewhat 2-celled, much curved
upwards. Hook. ft. Bor.-Am. 1. p. 151.
Barren sandy grounds o f the Oregon, from the junction of Lewis’ and
Clarke’s River to the mountains, Douglas.—Whole plant (except the large
purple corolla) woolly with long loose hairs. Calyx very thin, long and cylindrical,
with slender flexuous teeth, nearly as long as the corolla. Legume
an inch long, ovate and tapering a little at the base, but much more at the extremity
pointed, curved so as to be almost doubled, with a shallow broad
furrow below. Hook.
22. A.glareosus (Dough) : depressed; whole plant clothed with soft woolly
hairs; stems short; stipules oblong, acuminate, appressed, membranaceous;
leaflets 6 pairs, linear-oblong ; peduncles as long as the leaves, or shorter’