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

Tweedy's milkvetch

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

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

few, ascending to erect, 20–80 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.

3–10(13) cm;

leaflets (7)11–23, narrowly oblong-oblanceolate to linear-oblong, 5–22(25) × 1–2 mm;

tips retuse to obtuse;

surfaces abaxially strigillose, adaxially strigillose to glabrous;

stipules 1–7 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 dense but elongating and becoming looser, 10–35(50)-flowered;

peduncles (5)7–15 cm;

bracts 1.5–6 mm;

pedicels 0.8–2.5 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).

erect to spreading at anthesis;

calyces gibbous-convex at bases, 8–10.5 mm, villous or villous-tomentulose with mostly white hairs;

tubes 7.5–9 mm;

teeth triangular, 1–2.1 mm;

corollas 15–18.6 mm, ochroleucous, unspotted;

ovules 12–19.

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; erect, oblong-ellipsoid; straight or slightly arcuate, laterally compressed, bicarinate, 12–15 × 3–4(5.4) mm, rugulose, sparsely pilosulose or glabrous;

valves coriaceous;

stipes 6–10 mm.

Astragalus purshii

Astragalus tweedyi

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.

Dry hillsides, ridges, roadside banks, sagebrush. Flowering May–Jul. 100–1000 m. Col. WA. Native.

In Oregon, there are three species of Astragalus that have calyces that are obviously gibbous at the base so that the pedicel is attached obliquely: A. tweedyi, A. collinus, and A. curvicarpus; the three species are closely related. Astragalus tweedyi can be distinguished by its erect fruits, while the other species have pendulous fruits.

Source Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 671
Richard Halse
Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 675
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. 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. 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