Part 16

The flowers of the Loco are deep red-purple or white, often turning blue with age. They occur in open spikes on stems 4-12 in. tall and bloom in spring and summer. The plants occur on plains, prairies, hills and table-lands at 4000-9000 ft. The Loco is very poisonous to stock. After acquiring a taste for the plant they will eat nothing else and die from the effects in a few months or one or two years. In this way, millions of dollars of stock are lost annually. A cure for the disease has been found recently.

Alfalfa Medicago sativa

Plate 28, fig. 2

The small blue to purple blossoms of Alfalfa grow in loose, small heads on branching plants that attain a height of 1-2 ft. They bloom all summer long. The plant has escaped from cultivation and grows thriftily at 5000-6000 ft. Alfalfa forms a most nourishing fodder for horses and cattle and has been cultivated for ages in Southern Europe. When sown in deep, rich soils, few plants yield so heavy a crop. During the World War, meal was made from the dried and ground plants and used as a substitute for flour.

PEA FAMILY

1 Loco: Aragalus Lamberti 2 Alfalfa: Medicago sativa 3 Alpine Clover: Trifolium dasyphyllum 4 Psoralea: Psoralea tenuiflora 5 Dwarf Clover: Trifolium nanum 6 Prairie Pea: Astragalus hypoglottis 7 Rose Locust: Robinia neo-mexicana]

Alpine Clover Trifolium dasyphyllum

Plate 28, fig. 3

The flowers of the Alpine Clover have a cream-white standard and rose-purple wings and keel. They are clustered in heads on stemless plants which form mats or cushions 4-20 in. across and grow only on alpine peaks at 12000-14000 ft. They bloom in midsummer. The name “Clover” comes from the Latin word meaning “club” and refers to the resemblance between the leaf and the 3-headed club of Hercules. The clubs of playing-cards are also no doubt an imitation of the cloverleaf. The 3-parted leaves of the clovers fold together and “sleep” at night. The cultivated clovers are valuable as fodder and the white-flowered species makes beautiful lawns.

Psoralea Psoralea tenuiflora

Plate 28, fig. 4

Psoralea bears its small blue to purplish flowers in open spikes on branching plants 1-4 ft. tall. They bloom in early summer and are found on dry plains and hills at 4000-8000 ft. Some species of this genus are used in medicine and one, Psoralea esculenta, has a tuberous root that is edible.

Dwarf Clover Trifolium nanum

Plate 28, fig. 5

The pink to rose-purple flowers of the Dwarf Clover occur usually in pairs on prostrate or spreading stems in the high mountains. They bloom in midsummer and are found only at 9000-14000 ft. The Latin name for the genus means “three-leaves,” and the 3-parted leaf is characteristic of practically all clovers.

Prairie Pea Astragalus hypoglottis

Plate 28, fig. 6

The flowers of the Prairie Pea are usually blue to purple, rarely whitish or yellowish. They occur in dense heads on procumbent or ascending stems 4-8 in. long and bloom in midsummer. The plants are found in meadows and river valleys at 4000-9000 ft.

Rose Locust Robinia neo-mexicana

Plate 28, fig. 7

The Rose Locust is a shrub or tree 3-15 ft. tall, which grows along streams at 4000-7000 ft. The flowers are white to rose-colored with a touch of yellow on the standard and keel, and their large showy clusters come into bloom in spring and early summer. It is the handsomest of the locusts, and should be cultivated wherever winters are not too severe.

STONECROP FAMILY

Rose Crown Clementsia rhodantha

Plate 30, fig. 1

The rose-pink to nearly white flowers of the Rose Crown are crowded into heads at the ends of stiff stems 4-20 in. tall. They bloom in midsummer and may be found in meadows and bogs and along streams at high altitudes, 10000-13000 ft.

King’s Crown, Roseroot Rhodiola Rosea

Plate 30, fig. 3

The tiny deep red-purple flowers of the King’s Crown are crowded into dense roundish heads at the ends of unbranched stems 4-12 in. high. They bloom in midsummer and are found only on alpine peaks at 9000-14000 ft. The plant is used in Greenland as a salad, and the leaves in poultices for headache. The root has a pleasant rose-like odor, which gives rise to the name Roseroot, sometimes used for this species.