Astragalus purshii |
Astragalus lemmonii |
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Pursh's milkvetch, woollypod milkvetch |
Lemmon's milkvetch |
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Habit | Plants perennial, acaulescent to shortly caulescent, densely villous to villous-tomentose, hairs basifixed. | Plants perennial, caulescent, sparsely strigillose, hairs basifixed. |
Stems | prostrate, loosely to densely tufted, 0–20 cm. |
several–numerous, prostrate, loosely matted, 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. |
(1)1.5–4.5 cm; leaflets (7)9–15, narrowly elliptic to elliptic-oblanceolate, 2–11 × 1–2 mm; tips obtuse to subacute; surfaces abaxially strigillose, adaxially glabrate or glabrous; stipules 2–5 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, subcapitate; (2)5–13-flowered; peduncles 0.6–1.7 cm; bracts 0.8–2 mm; pedicels 0.7–2.5 mm; bracteoles 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). |
loosely ascending at anthesis; calyces 3–4 mm, strigillose with white or sometimes a few black hairs; tubes 1.7–2.2 mm; teeth subulate, 1.1–1.7 mm; corollas 4.8–6.1 mm; whitish or tinged with lilac; banners sometimes purple-veined; ovules 4–8. |
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, spreading or somewhat declined, elliptic or oblong-elliptic, compressed trigonous; straight or somewhat incurved, ventrally carinate, 4–7 × 1.5–2.5 mm, strigillose; valves papery; stipes 0. |
Astragalus purshii |
Astragalus lemmonii |
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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. |
Meadows and flats along streams and lakeshores. Flowering May–Jul. 1200–2000 m. ECas. CA, NV. Native. This species is distinguished by its racemes of tiny flowers borne on two or three short peduncles per node and its occupation of moist alkaline habitats on the shores of streams or lakes. |
Source | Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 671 Richard Halse |
Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 667 Richard Halse |
Sibling taxa | ||
Subordinate taxa | ||
Synonyms | Astragalus purshii var. ophiogenes | |
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