_Pea Family_
Herbs or vines with alternate, compound leaves and irregular, perfect,
yellow, purple, blue, or white flowers, mainly in racemes; calyx
4—5-toothed; petals more or less united or separate, consisting of a
broad upper one (standard), two lateral ones (wings), and two front
ones more or less united (keel).
Herbs; leaves unequally pinnate, not tendril-bearing.
Pods not jointed.
Keel of the corolla blunt.
Pod not much swollen, fleshy, leathery or papery;
flowers blue or purple. =Astragalus.=
Pods much inflated, membranous; flowers white. =Phaca.=
Pods flat, both sutures prominent externally. =Homalobus.=
Keel of the corolla acute. =Aragallus.=
Pods jointed, flowers purple or white. =Hedysarum.=
Herbaceous veins; leaves evenly pinnate, with tendrils.
Style slender with a tuft of hairs at the summit. =Vicia.=
Style flattened, bearded along the inner side. =Lathyrus.=
[Sidenote: =Astragalus adsurgens= Pall. _Ascending Milk-vetch._]
Stems whitish with close hairs or nearly smooth, ascending or
decumbent, 4—18 inches long, simple or branched at the base. Leaflets
15—25 oval or linear-oblong, sometimes notched at the apex, narrowed
at the base, ½—1 inch long; peduncles exceeding the leaves. Flowers
purplish, ½—¾ of an inch long in dense short spikes; calyx villous with
long partly black hairs, ½ the length of the corolla, with slender
teeth, half the length of the campanulate tube.
In open ground at low altitudes, probably the most frequent of the
vetches on the eastern slopes of the Rockies, often forming great
patches of blue during June.
[Sidenote: =Astragalus hypoglottis= L. _Purple Milk-vetch._]
Hairy or nearly smooth, stems decumbent or ascending, slender, branched
at the base, usually low, but ranging from 6—24 inches long. Leaves
2—5 inches long with 17—25 leaflets which are oblong or elliptic,
obtusish and usually notched at the apex, rounded at the base ¼—½ an
inch long. Flowers violet-purple, ½ to nearly an inch long in dense
heads, calyx nearly ⅓ the length with long black and white hairs.
Frequent at the lower altitudes, in dry ground and roadsides on the
eastern slopes of the Rockies, particularly in the region around Banff;
flowering in early June.
[Sidenote: =Astragalus alpinus= L. _Alpine Milk-vetch._]
Ascending or decumbent, branching from the base, 6—15 inches high,
slightly hairy or smooth. Leaves 2—5 inches long, with 13—25 oval or
elliptic, obtuse or retuse leaflets, narrowed or rounded at the base,
¼—½ an inch long. Flowers ½ an inch or more long, pale violet, the keel
commonly darker, in short rather open racemes; calyx about ⅓ the length
of the corolla, with short black hairs.
The most dainty of any of the vetches, frequent in rocky soil in
slightly shaded situations throughout the Rockies at the lower
altitudes; flowering during June and July.
[Sidenote: =Astragalus convallarius= Greene. _Slender Milk-vetch._]
Stems slender, ascending and rigid, 10—18 inches high, branching from
the base; hairy throughout. Leaves 3—6 inches long with 9—17 narrowly
linear, silky leaflets ½—1 inch long, remote. Flowers pale violet or
mauve, half an inch or more long, scattered in a slender raceme 3—5
inches long; peduncles much longer than the leaves; calyx about ⅓ the
length of the corolla with scattered white or brownish hairs.
On the eastern slopes of the Rockies in dry stony ground at the lower
altitudes; flowering in early June.
[Sidenote: =Astragalus Macouni= Rydb. _Macoun’s Vetch._]
Stems 18—24 inches high, stout and leafy, slightly striate and
nearly smooth. Leaves 2—4 inches long, thin, odd-pinnate with 4—8
pairs of obtuse, oblong, or oval leaflets, ½—1 inch long. Flower
scream-coloured, tinged with blue, in heads 1½—3 inches long, on
peduncles 4—10 inches long, from the axils of the upper leaves; calyx ⅛
of an inch long, black-hairy, lobes very slender and short; corolla ¼
of an inch or more long.
Frequent in more or less moist open ground throughout the Rockies at
varying altitudes; flowering during June and early July.
[Sidenote: =Phaca Americana= (Hook) Rydb. _Arctic Milk-vetch._]
Erect, nearly simple and smooth, 1—2 feet high. Leaves 3—6 inches
long with 7—17 oval or ovate-lanceolate obtuse leaflets, ¾—1½ inches
long. Flowers white, ¾ of an inch long in loose racemes on peduncles
equalling or exceeding the leaves; pedicels slender, ½ an inch long in
fruit; pod membranous, inflated, an inch long.
In moist or wet rocky shaded places throughout the Rockies; flowering
during June and early July.
[Illustration: Phaca americana (Hook.) Rydb. (½ Nat.) Arctic Vetch.]
[Illustration: Homalobus aboriginorum (Richards) Rydb. (⅓ Nat.) Indian
Vetch.]
[Sidenote: =Homalobus aboriginorum= (Richards) Rydb. _Indian Vetch._]
Stems erect and branching, 6—18 inches high, hairy throughout, from
an enlarged root. Leaves pinnate with 7—11 linear leaflets; stipules
ovate, acute, foliaceous. Flowers white, tinged with mauve, in a
loose raceme 1—2 inches long; peduncles longer than the leaves, calyx
black-hairy, about ⅛ of an inch long, with slender teeth nearly half as
much longer; corolla more than twice the length of the calyx.
An abundant species at the lower altitudes in open dry ground on the
eastern slopes of the Rockies; flowering in early June.
[Sidenote: =Aragallus monticola= (A. Gray) Greene. _Mountain Oxytrope._]
Silvery-pubescent throughout, with appressed or slightly spreading
hairs; tufted. Leaves basal, 3—6 inches long with 9—19 linear-oblong
or lanceolate, acute or obtusish leaflets ¾—1 inch long. Flowers pale
yellow or creamy-white ¾ of an inch or more long in dense heads, on
peduncles longer than the leaves; calyx nearly half as long as the
corolla, with long white and short black hairs.
Frequent throughout the Rockies in dry stony and alpine meadows and
slopes, at varying elevations; flowering from June to early July.
[Sidenote: =Aragallus Lamberti= (Pursh) Greene. _Loco Weed._]
Tufted, the branches of the caudex short; scapes few or several, erect,
rather slender, 4—20 inches high. Leaves several, mostly erect, shorter
than the scapes; leaflets 10—15 pairs, mostly oblong-lanceolate, from
sparsely soft-pubescent to lightly canescent, acute, ½—1 inch long.
Flowers pale yellow, ½ an inch long and twice as long as the calyx, in
a loose head, 2—4 inches long.
Abundant in the open ground on the eastern slopes of the Rockies; a
strikingly handsome vetch frequently found in masses of considerable
extent, especially in the region around Banff; flowering in June and
early July.
[Sidenote: =Aragallus splendens= (Dougl.) Greene. _Showy Oxytrope._]
Densely silky, silvery-villous, acaulescent, and tufted. Leaves 4—9
inches long, erect; leaflets very numerous, in verticels of 3—6, oblong
or oblong-lanceolate, acute or acutish at the apex, rounded at the
base, ½ to nearly an inch long. Flowers deep purple, about ½ an inch
long in dense spikes on peduncles exceeding the leaves.
A very showy plant frequently flowering in considerable masses in
the open grounds on the eastern slopes of the Rockies and dry alpine
meadows; flowering in June.
[Sidenote: =Aragallus viscidulus= Rydb. _Sticky Oxytrope._]
Tufted, with parts of the old leaves remaining. Leaves all basal, 4—6
inches long with 8—15 pairs of leaflets, loosely villous-pubescent,
oblong, obtuse or acutish, ¼ to nearly ½ an inch long, glandular on
the margins. Flowers nearly ½ an inch long varying from pink to dark
purple, in loose spikes on glandular sticky scapes, much longer than
the leaves; calyx more than half as long as the corolla with white
and shorter black hairs; calyx teeth and bracts of the inflorescence
densely glandular.
In dry open ground and alpine meadows through the Rockies at the lower
altitudes, flowering in early June and forming dense tufted masses of
brilliant pink, blue, or purple flowers; probably the most striking
species in the vicinity of Banff.
[Sidenote: =Aragallus deflexus= (Pall.) Heller. _Drooping-fruited
Oxytrope._]
Loosely soft-pubescent or silky, decumbent or ascending 10—18 inches
high. Leaves 4—6 inches long with 12—16 pairs of lanceolate to oblong,
acute leaflets, ¼—½ an inch long. Flowers small, pale purple, little
more than ¼ of an inch long in slender spikes 2—4 inches long on
peduncles much surpassing the leaves. Calyx nearly as long as the
corolla, with short black and longer white hairs; fruit strongly
reflexed.
In moist open ground throughout the eastern Rockies at the lower
altitudes; flowering in July.
[Illustration: Aragallus viscidulus Rydb. (⅓ Nat.) Sticky Oxytrope.]
[Illustration: Aragallus deflexus (Pall.) Heller. (½ Nat.) Drooping
Vetch.]
[Sidenote: =Aragallus inflatus= (Hook) A. Nelson. _Inflated Oxytrope._]
Acaulescent or more or less so, 1—4 inches high, soft-hairy. Leaves
pinnate with 5—11 pairs of short linear-lanceolate or oblong leaflets.
Flowers violet-purple, 1 or 2 on the peduncles which scarcely exceed
the leaves; calyx densely dark-hairy; pods much inflated.
On high alpine slopes and summits through the Rockies, not a common
plant but probably more general than is now known; flowering in July.
[Sidenote: =Hedysarum americanum= (Michx.) Britton. _Purple Hedysarum._]
Stem erect or somewhat decumbent, smooth or nearly so, 6 inches to 2½
feet high, generally simple. Leaves 2—8 inches long with 11—21 oblong
or oblanceolate-obtuse leaflets, ½ to nearly 1 inch long. Flowers
violet-purple or nearly white, deflexed, ½—¾ of an inch long in rather
loose elongated racemes; calyx teeth ovate-acute, shorter than the tube.
One of the taller of the vetches growing in open stony places and
slides throughout the Rockies at the lower altitudes, flowering in July.
[Sidenote: =Hedysarum sulphurescens= Rydb. _Yellow Hedysarum._]
Erect, 12—15 inches high, minutely hairy. Leaves with 5—6 pairs of
oblong-elliptic, obtuse-cuspidate leaflets, ½—¾ of an inch long, finely
hairy beneath. Flowers bright yellow, over ½ an inch long; 15—30 in a
rather dense raceme; wings exceeding the vexillum but shorter than the
keel.
Throughout the Rockies in open woods and meadows up to 8000 feet
elevation; flowering in June and July.
[Sidenote: =Hedysarum Mackenzii= Richards. _Mackenzie’s Hedysarum._]
Stems erect or decumbent, 12—18 inches high, usually minutely hairy.
Leaves 3—6 inches long with 11—19 oblong-elliptic leaflets about ½ an
inch long. Flowers ¾ of an inch long, reddish-purple, 20—30 in loose
racemes on peduncles longer than the leaves; calyx teeth very slender,
longer than the tube.
On slides and in loose stony soil throughout the Rockies at varying
altitudes; flowering during June and July.
[Sidenote: =Vicia Cracca= L. _Cow Vetch._]
Finely hairy or sometimes nearly smooth; stems tufted, slender, and
weak, climbing or trailing 2—4 feet long. Leaves tendril-bearing 2—3
inches long of 18—24 thin, linear or linear-oblong, obtuse or acutish,
mucronate leaflets, ⅓—¾ of an inch long. Flowers deep bluish-purple,
½ an inch long or less in dense spike-like racemes 1—4 inches long on
peduncles equalling or exceeding the leaves.
In dry or moist soil throughout the Rockies at the lower elevations,
flowering during June and July.
[Sidenote: =Vicia americana= Muhl. _American Vetch._]
Smooth or some with appressed hairs, trailing or climbing 2—3 feet
long. Leaves nearly sessile, 2—3 inches long, tendril-bearing, with
8—14 elliptic, ovate or oblong leaflets, ½—1½ inches long, obtuse or
sometimes notched or mucronulate at the tip. Flowers bluish-purple
about ¾ of an inch long, 3—9 in loose racemes, on peduncles usually
shorter than the leaves.
In moist ground at the lower altitudes throughout the Rockies, climbing
over the surrounding shrubs and herbaceous plants; flowering in July.
[Sidenote: =Vicia linearis= (Nutt.) Greene. _Narrow-leaved American
Vetch._]
Smooth or nearly so; stems weak, often zigzag, 1—2 feet long. Leaves
tendril-bearing, with 4—7 pairs of narrowly linear or linear-oblong
leaflets, 1—3 inches long, entire, acute and mucronate at the tip.
Flowers purple or purplish, about ¾ of an inch long, 2—6 in loose
racemes, on peduncles shorter than or about equalling the leaves.
In dry soil at low altitudes throughout the Rockies especially near the
line of the railway; flowering during July.
[Illustration: Aragallus Lamberti (Pursh) Greene. (½ Nat.) Loco Weed.]
[Illustration: Lathyrus ochroleucus Hook (½ Nat.) White Vetch.]
[Sidenote: =Lathyrus palustris= L. _Marsh Vetchling._]
Smooth or sparingly hairy, stems angled and winged, slender, 1—3 feet
long; stipules half sagittate, lanceolate-linear or ovate-lanceolate,
½ to nearly an inch long. Leaves with branched tendrils and 2—4 pairs
of lanceolate oblong or linear, acute, mucronate leaflets; 1½—4 inches
long. Flowers purple, half an inch or more long, 2—6 in loose-headed
racemes on peduncles about equaling the leaves.
In wet ground and swamps at the lower altitudes throughout the region;
flowering during July.
[Sidenote: =Lathyrus ochroleucus= Hook. _Cream-coloured Vetchling._]
Stems slender, somewhat angled, trailing or climbing, smooth and
slightly glaucous, 2—2½ feet long, stipules broad foliaceous, half
ovate and half cordate, ⅓—1 inch long. Leaves with branched tendrils
and 3—5 pairs of thin, ovate or broadly oval, obtuse leaflets, 1—2
inches long, green above, whitish beneath. Flowers yellowish or
creamy-white ½—¾ of an inch long, 5—10 on peduncles shorter than the
leaves.
On shaded river banks and hillsides at the lower altitudes throughout
the Rockies; flowering during June.