Astragalus purshii |
Astragalus collinus |
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Pursh's milkvetch, woollypod milkvetch |
hillside milkvetch |
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Habit | Plants perennial, acaulescent to shortly caulescent, densely villous to villous-tomentose, hairs basifixed. | Plants perennial, caulescent, villosulous or strigose throughout, hairs basifixed. |
Stems | prostrate, loosely to densely tufted, 0–20 cm. |
several–numerous, decumbent to ascending or erect; in clumps, 15–50 cm. |
Leaves | 1–12(17) cm; leaflets (3)5–17(21), elliptic to oblanceolate, 2–14(20) × 1–7 mm; tips obtuse to acute; surfaces densely villous; stipules 2.5–15 mm; free. |
3–9(10.5) cm; leaflets (9)11–21(25), oblong-oblanceolate to linear-elliptic, 4–20(22) × 2–6 mm; tips truncate-retuse to obtuse; surfaces abaxially pubescent, adaxially pubescent, glabrescent, or glabrous; stipules 2–5(7) mm; free. |
Inflorescences | racemes or subumbels, 1–12-flowered; peduncles 1–14 cm; bracts 4–9 mm; pedicels 2–4.3 mm; bracteoles 0–2. |
racemes closely (10)15–40(55)-flowered; peduncles (4)5–16 cm; bracts 1.5–3.5 mm; pedicels 0.8–2.8 mm; bracteoles 2, rarely 0. |
Flowers | ascending at anthesis; calyces 5.5–16(19) mm, often purple, villous-pilose with white or mixed white and black hairs; tubes 8.5–12.5 mm; teeth subulate, 2.2–6 mm; corollas 19–27 mm; whitish to ochroleucous or pink-purple; ovules 14–40(46). |
nodding at anthesis; calyces gibbous-saccate at bases, 7–12.3 mm, villosulous with white or some black hairs; tubes 5.8–9.4 mm; teeth lanceolate to triangular, 0.8–2.7(3.5) mm; corollas (10.5)12–17.2 mm, white, cream, ochroleucous to lemon yellow; ovules 7–18. |
Fruits | unilocular, ascending, obliquely ovoid, usually curved, obcompressed, scarcely to deeply sulcate; (7)13–27(30) × 3.5–11 mm, densely white to tawny tomentose or densely villous; hairs nearly always concealing valve surfaces; valves coriaceous, sessile or on gynophores 0–1.6 mm. |
unilocular, pendulous, linear- or lance-oblong to lunate-oblong; straight or gently incurved, laterally compressed, bicarinate, 7–25 × 2.3–4.5 mm, villosulous or strigillose to glabrate; valves coriaceous; stipes (3.5)5–15 mm; |
2n | =24. |
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Astragalus purshii |
Astragalus collinus |
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Distribution | ||
Discussion | Western North America. ~8 varieties; 4 varieties treated in Flora. Throughout western North America, particularly in the Intermountain Region, this is a low, tufted milkvetch with white or gray villous hairs and pods resembling balls of cotton. Barneby (1964) stated, “Attempts to devise a practical key to the varieties of A. purshii are never wholly successful.” Variety ophiogenes, the Snake River milkvetch, a native of Idaho, has been reported from Malheur County, but this is apparently based on misidentifications of A. purshii var. lagopinus. Variety ophiogenes has 3–11-flowered racemes and 9–17 leaflets. |
2 varieties. |
Source | Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 671 Richard Halse |
Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 661 Richard Halse |
Sibling taxa | ||
Subordinate taxa | ||
Synonyms | Astragalus purshii var. ophiogenes | |
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