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Pursh's milkvetch, woollypod milkvetch

balloon milkvetch, balloonpod milkvetch

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, decumbent to erect, 2–40 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.

1–10 cm;

leaflets (5)9–21, oblong-oblanceolate, elliptic, or narrowly obovate, 2–21 × 1–5 mm;

tips obtuse to acute;

surfaces abaxially strigillose, adaxially strigose, glabrate, or glabrous;

stipules 1–5 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 loosely 3–16-flowered;

peduncles 1–9.5(12) cm;

bracts 1–3 mm;

pedicels 0.5–2.5 mm;

bracteoles usually 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).

declined at anthesis;

calyces 4–9.3 mm, strigillose with white and black hairs;

tubes 3.5–5.9 mm;

teeth triangular, 0.5–3.6 mm;

corollas 8.3–17.2 mm, ochroleucous; pinkish white; lilac, or pink-purple;

ovules (13)15–30(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.

unilocular, pendulous; bladdery inflated, obovoid to ellipsoid, 15–60(75) × (8)10–25(35) mm, usually red- or purple-mottled, glabrous or strigillose;

valves membranous;

stipes 2–9 mm.

Astragalus purshii

Astragalus whitneyi

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.

Western United States. 5 varieties; 3 varieties treated in Flora.

Source Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 671
Richard Halse
Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 677
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. tweedyi, A. tyghensis, A. umbraticus, A. vallaris
Subordinate taxa
A. purshii var. glareosus, A. purshii var. lagopinus, A. purshii var. purshii, A. purshii var. tinctus
A. whitneyi var. confusus, A. whitneyi var. siskiyouensis, A. whitneyi var. sonneanus
Synonyms Astragalus purshii var. ophiogenes
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