Astragalus atratus var. mensanus |
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Darwin Mesa milk vetch, Darwin milkvetch, mourning milkvetch |
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Stems | 10–24(–30) cm. |
Leaves | (3.5–)5–13.5 cm; stipules 2.5–5 mm; leaflets (7 or)9–15, blades oblong-oblanceolate or oblong-elliptic to oval, 3–16 mm, apex obtuse or retuse, surfaces glabrous or pubescent adaxially; terminal leaflet jointed to rachis. |
Racemes | (5–)7–18-flowered; axis (3–)4–10.5 cm in fruit. |
Peduncles | (3–)4.5–13 cm. |
Flowers | 9.8–13.4 mm; calyx 5–7.6 mm, tube 4.5–5.6 mm, lobes 0.8–2.6 mm; corolla broadly margined or tipped with purple. |
Legumes | laterally compressed, 16–22 × 3.5–4.3 mm, bilocular; septum 1–2.7 mm wide; stipe 0–0.7 mm. |
Seeds | 18–29. |
Astragalus atratus var. mensanus |
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Phenology | Flowering late Apr–Jun. |
Habitat | Volcanic clay and gravel, with pinyon and sagebrush, often sheltered by sagebrush or Salvia dorrii. |
Elevation | 1400–2700 m. (4600–8900 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA |
Discussion | R. C. Barneby (1964) noted that it would be impossible to distinguish specimens of var. mensanus and var. atratus that do not have fruit or locality data. The few specimens of var. mensanus apparently come from two local populations approximately 50 km apart in Death Valley in Inyo County (D. Isely 1998). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | A. mensanus |
Name authority | M. E. Jones: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 2, 5: 665. (1895) |
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