Tampa Bay, Florida (/?,), Dr. Hulse! Dr. Leavenworth,!—We have no
specimens either of the West or East Indian plant; but those from Florida
agree so perfectly with Swartz’ description of S. occidentalis, the truncate
calyx excepted, that we cannot think them specifically distinct. The calyx
is said by Swartz to be gibbous above, obtusely 5-toothed, the 3 lower teeth
longest. The young racemes and branches, in our plant, are velvety-
pubescent ; the former much elongated ; the flowers large and apparently
pale yellow ; the calyx with a narrowed base, at length separating from the
torus and remaining loose at the base of the legume ; which is silky when
nodeS’ bUt Dearly Slabrous when mature, with 5 or 6 mostly approximate
§ Calyx somewhat ohconic: vexillum reflexed, entire: stamens not exserted:
nodes of the legume somewhat pulpy : seeds compressed, strophiolate : radicle
inflexed: stipules none.—S typhnolobium, Schott.
2. S. affinis: arborescent, nearly glabrous; racemes axillary, simple;
leaflets 13-15, elliptical, mucronulate ; calyx very short, campanulate, ab-
ruptly attenuate at the base, obscurely 5-toothed; ovary villous; legumes
somewhat pubescent.
Prairies of Arkansas, on Red River, &c. Dr. Leavenworth! Texas, Drummond!
May.—A shrub or tree, about 25 feet high, allied to Sophora
Japonica, but a very distinct species ; the calyx being more like that of a
proper Sophora, the leaflets smaller and nearly the same color both sides,
the racemes lateral, &c. Legumes with 4-5, or by abortion 1-2 subglobose
at length somewhat pulpy (sweetish) nodes. Seeds oval, somewhat compressed,
scarcely strophiolate. Radicle incurved.
§ 3* Calyx campanulate, obtuse at the base: vexillum spreading err reflexed,
■entire or emarginate: stamens not exserted, often a little united at the
base: legume dry: seeds estrophiolate: radicle inflexed: stipules subulate
: stems herbaceous.—P seudosophora, D C .; Benth.
3. S. sericea (Nutt.): herbaceous, low, silky-canescent; stems decumbent
or ascending, branching from the base; leaflets very small, about 21,
elliptical or cuneate-oval, glabrous above; raceme terminal, short, sub-
sessile ; calyx gibbous posteriorly, longer than the pedicels, 5-toothed, the
teeth short; stamens slightly diadelphous (9 and 1) at the base; vexillum
reflexed; petals of the keel nearly distinct, acuminate-mucronate.—Nutt. !
gen. 1. p. 280; DC. 1. c .; Torr.! in ann. lyc. New York, 2. p. 174. Pa-
trinia sericea, Raf. Astragalus camosus, Pursh (except the fruit),' ex Nutt.
High plains of the Missouri and the Platte, Bradbury, Nuttall! Dr.
James! extending nearly to the Rocky Mountains according to Nuttall.—
Plant 6-8 inches high. Leaves crowded: leaflets about 2 lines long,
Raceme or spike not exserted beyond the leaves, 2-4 inches long;' crowded.
Flowers nearly as large as in S. alopecuroides, white. Ovary canescent.
Fruit unknown.—This interesting plant is well described by Nuttall, and
considered to be related to S. alopecuroides of Asia. In our speciniens of
the latter we find the filaments somewhat connate at the base (certainly not
so manifestly united as in the present species), although both Ledebour and
Bentham state that they are wholly distinct.
52. CLADRASTIS. Raf. neog. (1825.)
Calyx cylindrical-campanulate, somewhat obliquely obconic at the base,
5-toothed at the apex ; the teeth nearly equal, very short and obtuse. Petals
on rather long claws, somewhat papilionaceous : vexillum large, roundish,
entire, scarcely longer than the wings, Teflexed-spreading: wings oblong,
straight, very obtuse, somewhat biauriculate at the base : keel-petals as long
as the wings, distinct, broadly oblong, nearly straight, very obtuse, subcord-
ate or slightly biauriculate at the base. Stamens distinct: filaments filiform,
incurved near the summit, glabrous. Ovary stipitate, linear, pubescent,
many-ovuled : style glabrous, subulate, incurved : stigma minute. Legume
on a short stipe, linear, much compressed, membranaceous, the sutures not
margined, tardily dehiscent, 4-6-seeded. Seeds oblong, compressed, scarcely
strophiolate. Cotyledons oblong, fla t: radicle very short, somewhat in-
flexed.—A small tree (the wood yellow). Leaves pinnately 7-11-foliolate ;
the leaflets usually alternate : petioles dilated at the base and including the
buds of the succeeding year. Stipules none. Inflorescence terminal: racemes
mostly paniculate below ; the lateral ones arising from the axil of a
solitary flower; the terminal one elongated : bracts minute, very caducous :
pedicels filiform, ebracteolate. Flowers large, white.
An interesting genus, wholly distinct both from Virgilia (V. Capensis) and Cal-
purnia, E. Mey. (V. aurea, Lam. $c.) The calyx of V. Capensis, we may here
remark, seems to us very incorrectly described as “ ineequaliter dentatus subbilabia-
tus” : in all the specimens we have examined it is rather deeply bilabiate; with
the upper lip more or less 2-cleft and the lower entire and acute.
C. tinctoria (Raf. ! 1. c.)—Virgilia lutea, Michx. f . sylv. 2. p. 18, t. 78 ;
Pursh, fl. 1. p. 309; DC. 1. c. •
Hill-sides, in deep fertile soil, West Tennessee, F. A . Michaux! Dr.
Currey ! Kentucky River, Dr. Short! April-May.—Tree 20-40 feet high,
sometimes nearly one foot in diameter, with a smooth greenish bark : the
heart-wood yellow, and readily imparting its color to water. Leaves and
branches nearly glabrous : leaflets petiolulate, broadly oval, the terminal one
rhomboid-ovate, acuminate, 3-4 inches in length. Flowers somewhat resembling
those of the Common Locust ; the thyrsoid racemes 6-10 inches
long, nodding or pendulous. Legumes 3-4 inches long and about i of an
inch in width, flat, even, the margin often somewhat undulate hy the abortion
of a portion of the seeds.—Pursh and Nuttall, being misled by the
specific name of Michaux, state the flowers to be yellow, and the error is
copied by De Candolle, although the flowers are represented of their proper
color in Michaux’s Sylva.— Yellow-wood.
53. CERCIS. L in n .; Lam. ill. t. 328 ; Gcertn.fr. t. 144.
Calyx broadly campanulate, 5-toothed, broadly obconic and somewhat
oblique at the base. Petals scarcely papilionaceous, all distinct: vexillum
smaller than the wings : keel-petals broadly oval, larger than the wings,
overlapping each other at the back. Stamens somewhat unequal. Legume
oblong, acute at'each end, slightly stipitate, eoriaeeo-membranaceous, much
compressed, many-seeded ; the upper suture with a winged margin. Seeds
obovate, compressed ; the inner coat thickened. Embryo straight: cotyledons
flat.—Trees, with simple cordate leaves, and membranaceous caducous