Astragalus australis var. olympicus
Astragalus australis var. glabriusculus
cotton's milkvetch
aboriginal milkvetch
decumbent to ascending, 10–17 cm.
ascending, 10–50 cm.
(1.5–)2–5.5 cm;
subsessile;
leaflets 9–15(or 17), blades linear-elliptic to elliptic-oblanceolate, 4–16 mm, apex acute to subacute, surfaces usually villosulous, sometimes glabrate adaxially.
1–7(–10) cm;
sessile;
leaflets 5–19, blades linear to oblong, lanceolate, or elliptic, 3–27(–35) mm, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces glabrous, strigose, or villous.
densely 11–21-flowered;
axis 2–6 cm in fruit.
densely 6–40-flowered;
axis 1.5–15 cm in fruit.
3–6.5 cm.
(2–)6.5–15 cm.
10–12.2 mm;
calyx 7–8.4 mm, tube 3.8–4.4 mm, lobes 3–4 mm;
corolla creamy white.
7–12.5 mm;
calyx 4–7 mm, tube 3–4 mm, lobes 1.5–3 mm;
corolla whitish to purplish.
semi-ellipsoid, bladdery-inflated, 20–25 × 7–9(–11) mm, glabrous;
stipe 3–5 mm.
obliquely ellipsoid to narrowly oblong, seldom bladdery, 10–30 × 3–7(–9) mm, glabrous or sometimes strigose;
stipe 2.5–8 mm.
10–15.
8–16.
= 16.
= 16.
Astragalus australis var. olympicus
Astragalus australis var. glabriusculus
Variety olympicus is geographically isolated in the Olympic Mountains in Clallam County and is the most distinctive variety within the Astragalus australis complex in North America, yet its inflated fruits approach those of populations of var. lepagei.
Astragalus australis var. cottonii (M. E. Jones) S. L. Welsh is a superfluous name that pertains here.
Variety olympicus is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
R. C. Barneby (1964) provided an extensive and detailed overview of the variation within this variety (as Astragalus aboriginorum) and the taxonomy that was applied in an attempt to adequately classify the variation. To the north, distinction from var. muriei is debatable, but to the south, leaves are almost uniformly sessile. Still, along the cordillera are a great many morphological variants, some possibly worthy of taxonomic recognition.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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