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Pursh's milkvetch, woollypod milkvetch

hermit milkvetch

Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent to shortly caulescent, densely villous to villous-tomentose, hairs basifixed. Plants perennial, caulescent, thinly to densely strigillose, hairs basifixed.
Stems

prostrate, loosely to densely tufted, 0–20 cm.

several, ascending to erect, 10–50 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)4.5–18 cm;

leaflets ovate, elliptic to oblong, 5–26 × 1.5–6 mm;

tips obtuse to retuse;

surfaces abaxially strigillose, adaxially glabrate to glabrous;

stipules 3–11 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 10–25-flowered;

peduncles (1.5)2.5–17 cm;

bracts 1.5–4 mm;

pedicels 0.7–3.5 mm;

bracteoles 0–2.

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).

ascending, spreading, or declined at anthesis;

calyces subsymmetric or strongly oblique at bases, 5.5–9.5 mm, strigillose with black or mixture of black and white hairs;

tubes 4.5–8 mm;

teeth triangular to subulate, 1–2.5 mm;

corollas 12–20 mm, ochroleucous with keel tips usually purple, or petals purple with yellowish wing tips;

ovules 17–32.

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.

bilocular; erect; straight or nearly so, oblong to ellipsoid, trigonous, dorsally sulcate, 12–27(30) × 3.5–9 mm, glabrous;

valves chartaceous or coriaceous;

stipes 6–15(17) mm.

2n

=24.

Astragalus purshii

Astragalus eremiticus

Distribution
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.

Ash-clay hillsides, grassy slopes, sagebrush-bunchgrass communities. Flowering Apr–Jul. 500–1800 m. BR, BW, Owy. ID, NV; southeast to AZ. Native.

Source Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 671
Richard Halse
Flora of Oregon, volume 2 draft
Richard Halse
Sibling taxa
A. accidens, A. agrestis, A. alpinus, A. alvordensis, A. applegatei, A. arthuri, A. atratus, A. australis, A. beckwithii, A. californicus, A. calycosus, A. canadensis, A. caricinus, A. collinus, A. conjunctus, A. curvicarpus, A. cusickii, A. diaphanus, A. drummondii, A. eremiticus, A. filipes, A. gambellianus, A. geyeri, A. hoodianus, A. howellii, A. inflexus, A. iodanthus, A. kentrophyta, A. lemmonii, A. lentiginosus, A. malacus, A. misellus, A. mulfordiae, A. multiflorus, A. newberryi, A. nudisiliquus, A. obscurus, A. peckii, A. platytropis, A. reventus, A. robbinsii, A. salmonis, A. sclerocarpus, A. sheldonii, A. solitarius, A. spaldingii, A. sterilis, A. succumbens, A. tegetarioides, A. tetrapterus, A. toanus, A. tweedyi, A. tyghensis, A. umbraticus, A. vallaris, A. whitneyi
A. accidens, A. agrestis, A. alpinus, A. alvordensis, A. applegatei, A. arthuri, A. atratus, A. australis, A. beckwithii, A. californicus, A. calycosus, A. canadensis, A. caricinus, A. collinus, A. conjunctus, A. curvicarpus, A. cusickii, A. diaphanus, A. drummondii, A. filipes, A. gambellianus, A. geyeri, A. hoodianus, A. howellii, A. inflexus, A. iodanthus, A. kentrophyta, A. lemmonii, A. lentiginosus, A. malacus, A. misellus, A. mulfordiae, A. multiflorus, A. newberryi, A. nudisiliquus, A. obscurus, A. peckii, A. platytropis, A. purshii, A. reventus, A. robbinsii, A. salmonis, A. sclerocarpus, A. sheldonii, A. solitarius, A. spaldingii, A. sterilis, A. succumbens, A. tegetarioides, A. tetrapterus, A. toanus, A. tweedyi, A. tyghensis, A. umbraticus, A. vallaris, A. whitneyi
Subordinate taxa
A. purshii var. glareosus, A. purshii var. lagopinus, A. purshii var. purshii, A. purshii var. tinctus
Synonyms Astragalus purshii var. ophiogenes Astragalus eremiticus var. eremiticus, Astragalus eremiticus var. malheurensis, Astragalus eremiticus var. spencianus, Astragalus malheurensis
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