■ Platlensis (Nutt.. mss.): “ stemleiss and somewhat csespitose, ca-
nescently villous; leaflets oblong-elliptical or oblong-lanceolate, more or less
acute; scape longer than the leaves; flowers in interrupted spikes; bracts
the tube6’ n ? S ? calyx; teeth of the calyx tiie tube, wings dilated and emarginate. nearly half the length of
loafll?ainSa^ tllu'P}atte~ ' Differs trom Lamberti in its shorter and wider
r p i™ k l^ V r the, lonSer tee‘h calyx.” Nu tta ll- T h i s plant strongly
villonc q i * ^J?-m^)ertl and seems to differ chiefly in being whiter, more
villous, and m the looser, interrupted spikes.
\ ^ a? \ H00ke:!'ianC\ ^Nutt' mss-): “ stemless, somewhat csespitose ; pilose;
leaflets linear-lanceolate, acute at each end; scapes longer than the leaves ;
flowers in somewhat interrupted spikes; bracts foliaceous, lanceolate-linear
tfhhee ttbuhbieh;e w| ei'nngg' s ^d°ilfa ted aCna dJ Xem 5 atregei-ntha toef.' the calyx subulate, nearly as long as
‘ Plains of the Platte. May-June.—Also allied to O. Lamberti; but-the
leaves are near y green and loosely pilose, with the flowers (purple) smaller
®Pd *heA-ca/17 x„shoi;t/'r ^ d more deeply divided. It is also a more dwarf spe-
cies. Jyuttacl. We have seen no Specimens of this plant.
i a P ’ ^9S°Pus (Nutt.): nearly stemless, silky-lanuginous, rather dwarf;
leaflets oblong-elliptical, about 4 pairs: flowers (5-6) capitate and somewhat
umbelled; calyx cylindrical, densely clothed with white silky hairs,
longer than the ovate bracts; the teeth subulate, half the length of the tube
—Nutt, ! in jour. acad. Phil ad. 7.p. 17.
About the sources of the Missouri, Mr. Wyeth! (from Nuttall.)—Root
Jong and thick. Caudex divided above into several short crowded branches,
which bear tufts of whitish leaves. Leaflets about 3 lines long. Peduncles
I 2 inches long. Flowers closely approximated, violet-blue. Corolla scarcely
exserted: vexillum obcordate; wings oblong : keel with a short straight
rather obtuse point. Ovary glabrous. Ripe legumes not seen.—This species
may prove to be a Phaca.
10. O.nana (Nutt.! mss..); “ stemless, csespitose, dwarf, canescently pilose;
leaflets about 3 pairs, elliptical-oblong, somewhat acute; scapes longer
than the leaves; head few-flowered ; bracts ovate-lanceolate, shorter than the
ye[y calyx ; teeth of the calyx short; wings dilated and emarginate.
' Plains ol the Platte in the Rocky Mountain range.—Scapes 2-3 inches
high. Flowers large for the size of the plant, purple.—Distinguished
trom O. Lamberti, which it resembles in some respects, by its dwarf stature,
and the small number of its leaflets.” Nuttall. 1 12
11. O. nigrescens (Fischer) : stem very short, divided above into several
procumbent branches; leaflets 3-5 pairs, elliptical, rather acute, villous; sti-
pules and calyx villous with blackish hairs; peduncle 2-fl.oweredj as long as
the leaves ; legumes oblong, inflated, pubescent, 1-celled. J)C. prodr. 2. p.
2 7 8 ; Hook. fl. Bor.-Am. 1. p. 147. Astragalus nigrescens, Pall. Astras,
p. 65, t. 63, ex DC. ’ s
Island of St, Lawrence in Behring’s .Straits.—Flowers bluish-purple, rather
large. Keel with ,a small, but evident point. DC.—A native also of Eastern
Siberia.
* * Flowers ochroleucous.
12. O. campestris (D C .): leaflets mapy pairs, lanceolate, silky; scapes
often decumbent, usually longer than the leaves ; spikes capitate (sometimes
elongated) ; flowers erect; bracts a little longer than the calyx; legumes
erect, oblong-ovate, inflated, rostrate, pubescent, half 2-celled.—DC. prodr.
2. p. 278 ; Richards.! app. Frankl. journ. ed. 2. p. 28 ; Hook.! fl. Bor.-
Am. 1. p. 147. '
fl. speciosa : leaflets broader and more silky ; flowers larger.—O. campes-
tris y. sulphurea, Hook.! 1. c., not of DC.?
y. spicata (Hook.! 1. c.) : spikes elongated; flowers more remote.
S. glabrata (Hook.! 1. c.) : leaflets almost glabrous and somewhat succulent.
«1 melanocephala (Hook.! 1. c.): smaller; calyx villous with blackish
hairs.
a. fl. & y. British America, west to the Pacific! i . & c. Arctic and
Subarctic America!—Leaflets variable in number and breadth, usually 8-10
pairs, lanceolate and approximated, in y. & S- rather remote. Scapes 4—12
inches long, mostly longer than the leaves. Legumes about an inch long,
terminated with a long oblique ensiform point.—This species is a native also
of the mountains of Europe. Hooker considers his var. sulphurea (our fl.)
as probably identical with O. sulphurea, Ledeb. § Fisch. (O. campestris y.
sulphurea, DC.) ; but our specimen of that plant, received from Dr. Fischer,
has the leaflets much narrower, more acute, and closely approximated.
13. O. viscida (Nutt.! mss.) : “ stemless, caespitose, hairy and viscid ; leaflets
numerous (16-29 pairs), oblong-lanceolate, somewhat acute; peduncles
longer than the leaves ; stipules pilose, membranaceous, with a long acumi-
nation; spikes subcylindrical; bracts as long as the calyx; teeth of the calyx
subulate, about the length of the tube ; legumes short, terete, pubescent, acuminate.
“ Rocky Mountains, near the sources of the Oregon.—Scapes about 14
inches high. Flowers rather smaller-than in O. Uralensis.” Nuttall.
14. O. multiceps (Nutt.! mss.): nearly stemless, csespitose, canescently
silky ; caudex divided above into numerous heads ; leaflets 3-4 pairs, elliptical
lanceolate; stipules adnate to the petiole, ovate, acute, membranaceous;
scapes longer than the leaves, 2-3-flowered ; bracts ovate ; legumes ovate,
acuminate, wholly included in the inflated calyx, half 2-celled.”
Summit of lofty hills in the Rocky Mountain range, towards Lewis’s
River.—Nuttall! Plant forming beautiful silvery tufts about 3 inches
high. Leaflets about J of an inch long. Calyx at length somewhat glabrous;
the teeth subulate, £ the length of the tube. Legumes compressed
contrary to the sutures, pubescent, about 8-seeded.—A well marked species,
but perhaps not referred to its proper section, as the flowers are unknown.
The legume, however, is truly that of Oxytropis.
§ 2. Acaulescent: leaflets mostly verticillate or fascicled. — Verticillares,
DC.
15. O. splendens (Dougl.): stemless; leaflets verticillate in threes and
fours, lanceolate, very acute, silky ; scapes longer than the leaves, clothed (as
likewise the petioles) with spreading hairs ; flowers somewhat remote, erect-
spreading ; calyx very hairy, white; legumes ovate, partly 2-celled, erect,
acuminate, hairy, much longer than the calyx.—Hook.! fl. Bor.-Am. 1. p.
147.
a. veptita (Hook. L c.): very hairy ; bracts much longer than the calyx.
fl. Richardsonii (Hook.! 1. c .) : less hairy ; bracts scarcely as long as the
calyx.—O. oxyphylla, Richards, app. Frankl. jour. ed. 2. p. 28, not of
Pall.
British America, from the Saskatchewan and Red Rivers, north to Bear
Lake and west to the Rocky Mountains, Douglas, Richardson!—Leaflets
5-10 lines long, those of the primary leaves often smaller and nearly ovate,
sometimes 5-6 in a whorl. Scapes 8-12 inches high. Spike 2 inches long.
Flowers large, bright blue. Legume pointed with a long straight beak.