The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links
Photo is of parent taxon

Yukon milkvetch

Photo is of parent taxon

Lepage's milkvetch

Stems

ascending, 7–35 cm.

sprawling to ascending, (8–)24–40 cm.

Leaves

(2–)3–6.5 cm; mostly petiolate, sometimes sessile distally;

leaflets (7 or)9–15, blades linear to narrowly elliptic, 6–15 mm, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces glabrous, strigulose-pilosulous, or villous.

3–9 cm;

sessile or petiolate;

leaflets (5–)9–15, blades elliptic to lanceolate, lanceolate-oblong, linear-lanceolate, or linear, 6–33 mm, apex acute to apiculate, surfaces glabrous, strigulose, pilosulous, or villous.

Racemes

densely to somewhat loosely (6–)8–21-flowered;

axis 1.5–9.5 cm in fruit.

densely to loosely 8–29(–32)-flowered;

axis 3–14 cm in fruit.

Peduncles

2.5–11 cm.

(4–)4.5–10 cm.

Flowers

8.5–9.5 mm;

calyx 4.2–5.5 mm, tube 2.4–2.7 mm, lobes 1.1–2.5 mm;

corolla whitish to purplish.

(10.5–)11.5–13.8(–14.5) mm;

calyx (4.7–)4.8–6.5 mm, tube 2.8–5 mm, lobes (1–)1.4–2.4 mm.

Corollas

whitish to purplish.

Legumes

obliquely ellipsoid to narrowly oblong, 11–24 × 4–7 mm, glabrous or sometimes strigose;

stipe 4–6 mm.

obliquely ellipsoid to narrowly oblong, (10–)15–30 × (3–)6–8.5 mm, glabrous;

stipe (3–)5–7 mm.

Astragalus australis var. muriei

Astragalus australis var. lepagei

Phenology Flowering Jun–Jul. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Mountain slopes, ridge crests, stream valleys, gravel bars, often with Artemisia. Spits, gravel bars, slopes, ridge crests, in mixed tundra.
Elevation 600–1200 m. (2000–3900 ft.) 0–400 m. (0–1300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
YT
from FNA
AK; YT
Discussion

Absence of consistent diagnostic criteria appears to prohibit the complete distinction of var. muriei from var. australis of the southern Europe type locality for the species. Petiolate specimens occur throughout the range of var. muriei, with distal leaves less often sessile. The type of this variety has strigulose fruits, which are unusual in plants from the arctic but not of diagnostic value within the group.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Astragalus > sect. Hemiphragmium > Astragalus australis Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Astragalus > sect. Hemiphragmium > Astragalus australis
Sibling taxa
A. australis var. glabriusculus, A. australis var. lepagei, A. australis var. olympicus
A. australis var. glabriusculus, A. australis var. muriei, A. australis var. olympicus
Synonyms A. aboriginorum var. muriei, A. linearis A. lepagei
Name authority (Hultén) S. L. Welsh: Great Basin Naturalist 58: 47. (1998) (Hultén) S. L. Welsh: Great Basin Naturalist 58: 47. (1998)
Web links