Astragalus purshii |
Astragalus multiflorus |
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Pursh's milkvetch, woollypod milkvetch |
pulse milkvetch |
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Habit | Plants perennial, acaulescent to shortly caulescent, densely villous to villous-tomentose, hairs basifixed. | Plants perennial, caulescent, strigillose, hairs basifixed. |
Stems | prostrate, loosely to densely tufted, 0–20 cm. |
several–numerous, prostrate to ascending or 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. |
2–9 cm; leaflets (7)11–21(25), narrowly oblong to elliptic, linear, oblanceolate or obovate, 3–24(27) × 0.4–6 mm; tips acute to obtuse, mucronate or emarginate; surfaces abaxially strigose, adaxially glabrous; stipules 1.5–8 mm; at least lowermost connate-sheathing. |
Inflorescences | racemes or subumbels, 1–12-flowered; peduncles 1–14 cm; bracts 4–9 mm; pedicels 2–4.3 mm; bracteoles 0–2. |
racemes loosely or remotely 3–23-flowered; peduncles 0.2–4 cm; bracts 0.5–3 mm; pedicels 0.7–3.2 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 at anthesis; calyces 2.5–6 mm, strigillose with black, white, or a mixture of black and white hairs; tubes 2–3 mm; teeth subulate or linear, 0.7–3 mm; corollas 6–9(11) mm, white to ochroleucous or pink-purple; ovules 3–9. |
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, elliptic to oblong; straight or curved, laterally flattened, bicarinate, 7–17 × 2.5–4.5 mm, dark brown to black at maturity, usually glabrous or with few scattered white hairs; valves papery; stipes 1–7 mm. |
2n | =24. |
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Astragalus purshii |
Astragalus multiflorus |
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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. |
Sagebrush communities. Flowering May–Aug. 1200–1800 m. BR. ID, NV; north to Yukon Territory, northeast to Manitoba, east to MN, southeast to CO. Native. This widely distributed species has only recently been found in Malheur County; it is probably native. |
Source | Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 671 Richard Halse |
Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 669 Richard Halse |
Sibling taxa | ||
Subordinate taxa | ||
Synonyms | Astragalus purshii var. ophiogenes | |
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