The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Pursh's milkvetch, woollypod milkvetch

broad-keeled milkweed

Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent to shortly caulescent, densely villous to villous-tomentose, hairs basifixed. Plants perennial, ± acaulescent, densely tufted, with a thatch of persistent leaf bases, silvery- or gray-strigillose or sericeous, hairs basifixed.
Stems

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

prostrate or ascending to erect, often buried, 0–2 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.

1–9 cm;

leaflets 5–15, elliptic to obovate, oblong or oval, 2–11 × 1.5–7 mm;

tips acute to obtuse or retuse;

surfaces silvery strigose;

stipules 1.5–5 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 or subumbels, 2–9-flowered;

peduncles scapiform, 1.5–6.5 cm;

bracts 0.6–2 mm;

pedicels 0.7–1.9 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 2.5–4.5 mm, strigose with white hairs or a mixture of white and black hairs;

tubes 2–3.4 mm;

teeth subulate or triangular, 0.5–2 mm;

corollas 6–9.5 mm; whitish or pink-purple, tinged distally with lilac;

ovules 24–34.

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, ascending, humistrate; bladdery inflated; ovoid to subglobose, 15–33 × 10–22 mm, purple-mottled, strigillose;

valves papery;

stipes 0.

Astragalus purshii

Astragalus platytropis

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.

Ridge tops, screes, roadsides, talus. Flowering Jun–Aug. 1500–2000 m. BR. CA, ID, NV; northeast to MT, southeast to UT. Native.

In Oregon, A. platytropis is the only acaulescent, montane Astragalus with basifixed hairs and sessile, bladdery, bilocular fruits.

Source Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 671
Richard Halse
Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 671
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. 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. 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
Web links