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Photo is of parent taxon

yellow milkvetch

Habit Plants forming tufts. Plants tuft- or clump-forming, 5–30(–40) cm, strigulose, hairs malpighian; from branched, superficial caudex.
Stems

decumbent to ascending or erect, usually strigulose, rarely pilose-pilosulous, usually cinereous or canescent, rarely greenish.

Leaves

3–15(–18) cm;

stipules connate, 2–10 mm, papery-scarious;

leaflets (5–)9–21, blades linear, narrowly oblong, or oblanceolate to ovate, 3–31 mm, apex obtuse to acute, surfaces silvery-strigose, rarely greenish, or glabrate or glabrous adaxially.

Racemes

slightly to much surpassing leaves.

6–30-flowered;

axis 2–15 cm in fruit;

bracts 1.5–5 mm;

bracteoles 0.

Peduncles

usually to 12 cm.

erect or ascending, (3–)5–23 cm, surpassing subtending leaves.

Pedicels

0.7–1.2 mm.

Flowers

11–17.8 mm;

calyx 4–7.5 mm, strigose to short-villous, tube 3.2–5.2 mm;

corolla usually cream to lemon yellow, rarely suffused with pale pink or purple.

9–17.8 mm;

calyx campanulate, 4–10 mm, pilosulous, strigulose, or hirsute, tube 3–5.2 mm, lobes broadly subulate to narrowly triangular, 2–6 mm;

corolla usually cream, lemon yellow, white, stramineous, reddish lilac, reddish purple, blue, rarely pink-purple or suffused with pale pink or purple;

banner recurved through 45(–90)°;

keel 6.5–10 mm.

Legumes

erect, stramineous, straight, oblong, dorsiventrally compressed, 7–13 × 3.5–5.5 mm, somewhat fleshy becoming leathery or stiffly papery, strigose.

Seeds

8–17.

(6–)8–17.

2n

= 24, 26.

Astragalus flavus var. flavus

Astragalus flavus

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jul(–Sep).
Habitat Seleniferous substrates composed of saline silts and clays derived from Triassic Chinle and Moenkopi, Jurassic Arapien Shale, Entrada, Curtis, Summerville, Morrison, and Cedar Mountain formations, and from Cretaceous Mancos Shale and Tropic Shale formations, and other similarly fine-textured Tertiary formations, in salt desert shrub, pinyon-juniper communities.
Elevation 800–2300 m. (2600–7500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; UT; WY
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
w United States
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Sheep poisoning attributable to var. flavus, possibly due to ingestion of selenium, is known from lower elevations of the Uinta Basin in northeastern Utah.

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

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

Astragalus flavus occupies usually fine-textured, seleniferous clay, mud, and silt. The characters used to distinguish varieties are not absolute; varieties intergrade, and populations within varieties often have different features.

In this treatment, plants previously known as var. candicans A. Gray from the vicinity of Richfield, Sevier County, Utah, (the type locality) are included in var. flavus. Plants known as var. candicans A. Gray from southern Nevada across southern Utah and northern Arizona to southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico here are placed in var. higginsii.

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

Key
1. Calyces hirsute; corollas usually reddish lilac, reddish purple, or blue, rarely white; Emery, Garfield, Grand, and Wayne counties, Utah.
var. argillosus
1. Calyces strigose to short-villous; corollas usually cream, lemon yellow, white, or stramineous, rarely pink-purple or suffused with pale pink or purple; Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming.
→ 2
2. Peduncles usually to 12 cm; racemes slightly to much surpassing leaves; corollas usually cream to lemon yellow, rarely suffused with pale pink or purple; ne Arizona, Colorado, nw New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming.
var. flavus
2. Peduncles usually 12–23 cm; racemes surpassing leaves; corollas usually white to cream or stramin­eous, rarely pink-purple; s Nevada, Washington County, Utah, eastward through n Arizona to sw Colorado, nw New Mexico.
var. higginsii
Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Astragalus > sect. Ocreati > Astragalus flavus Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Astragalus > sect. Ocreati
Sibling taxa
A. flavus var. argillosus, A. flavus var. higginsii
A. accidens, A. accumbens, A. ackermanii, A. acutirostris, A. adanus, A. aequalis, A. agnicidus, A. agrestis, A. albens, A. albulus, A. allochrous, A. alpinus, A. altus, A. alvordensis, A. amblytropis, A. americanus, A. amnis-amissi, A. amphioxys, A. ampullarioides, A. ampullarius, A. andersonii, A. anisus, A. anserinus, A. applegatei, A. aquilonius, A. aretioides, A. argophyllus, A. aridus, A. arizonicus, A. arrectus, A. arthurii, A. asclepiadoides, A. asotinensis, A. asymmetricus, A. atratus, A. atropubescens, A. atwoodii, A. austiniae, A. australis, A. barnebyi, A. barrii, A. beathii, A. beatleyae, A. beckwithii, A. bernardinus, A. bibullatus, A. bicristatus, A. bisulcatus, A. bodinii, A. bolanderi, A. bourgovii, A. brandegeei, A. brauntonii, A. brazoensis, A. breweri, A. californicus, A. callithrix, A. calycosus, A. camptopus, A. canadensis, A. caricinus, A. casei, A. castaneiformis, A. castetteri, A. ceramicus, A. cerussatus, A. chamaeleuce, A. chamaemeniscus, A. chinensis, A. chloödes, A. chuskanus, A. cibarius, A. cicer, A. cimae, A. claranus, A. clevelandii, A. cliffordii, A. cobrensis, A. coccineus, A. collinus, A. coltonii, A. columbianus, A. concordius, A. congdonii, A. conjunctus, A. consobrinus, A. contortuplicatus, A. convallarius, A. cottamii, A. crassicarpus, A. cremnophylax, A. cronquistii, A. crotalariae, A. curtipes, A. curvicarpus, A. cusickii, A. cutleri, A. cyaneus, A. cymboides, A. deanei, A. debequaeus, A. desereticus, A. desperatus, A. deterior, A. detritalis, A. diaphanus, A. didymocarpus, A. distortus, A. diversifolius, A. douglasii, A. drabelliformis, A. drummondii, A. duchesnensis, A. eastwoodiae, A. egglestonii, A. emoryanus, A. endopterus, A. ensiformis, A. episcopus, A. equisolensis, A. eremiticus, A. ertterae, A. eucosmus, A. eurekensis, A. eurylobus, A. falcatus, A. feensis, A. filipes, A. flexuosus, A. fucatus, A. funereus, A. gambelianus, A. geyeri, A. gibbsii, A. giganteus, A. gilensis, A. gilmanii, A. gilviflorus, A. glycyphyllos, A. gracilis, A. grayi, A. gypsodes, A. hallii, A. hamiltonii, A. harrisonii, A. heilii, A. henrimontanensis, A. holmgreniorum, A. hoodianus, A. hornii, A. howellii, A. humillimus, A. humistratus, A. hyalinus, A. hypoxylus, A. inflexus, A. insularis, A. inversus, A. inyoensis, A. iodanthus, A. iodopetalus, A. iselyi, A. jaegerianus, A. jejunus, A. johannis-howellii, A. kelseyae, A. kentrophyta, A. kerrii, A. knightii, A. laccoliticus, A. lancearius, A. laxmannii, A. layneae, A. leibergii, A. lemmonii, A. lentiformis, A. lentiginosus, A. leptaleus, A. leptocarpus, A. leucolobus, A. limnocharis, A. lindheimeri, A. linifolius, A. loanus, A. lonchocarpus, A. lotiflorus, A. lutosus, A. lyallii, A. macrodon, A. magdalenae, A. malacoides, A. malacus, A. megacarpus, A. michauxii, A. microcymbus, A. microcystis, A. microlobium, A. micromerius, A. miguelensis, A. minthorniae, A. misellus, A. miser, A. missouriensis, A. moencoppensis, A. mohavensis, A. mollissimus, A. molybdenus, A. monoensis, A. montii, A. monumentalis, A. mulfordiae, A. multiflorus, A. musiniensis, A. naturitensis, A. neglectus, A. nelsonianus, A. neomexicanus, A. nevinii, A. newberryi, A. nidularius, A. nothoxys, A. nudisiliquus, A. nutans, A. nutriosensis, A. nuttallianus, A. nuttallii, A. nutzotinensis, A. nyensis, A. obcordatus, A. obscurus, A. oniciformis, A. oocalycis, A. oocarpus, A. oophorus, A. oreganus, A. osterhoutii, A. oxyphysus, A. pachypus, A. palmeri, A. panamintensis, A. pardalinus, A. parryi, A. pattersonii, A. pauperculus, A. paysonii, A. peckii, A. pectinatus, A. perianus, A. phoenix, A. pictiformis, A. pinonis, A. piscator, A. piutensis, A. plattensis, A. platytropis, A. polaris, A. pomonensis, A. porrectus, A. praelongus, A. preussii, A. proimanthus, A. proximus, A. pseudiodanthus, A. pterocarpus, A. pubentissimus, A. pulsiferae, A. puniceus, A. purshii, A. pycnostachyus, A. racemosus, A. rafaelensis, A. rattanii, A. ravenii, A. recurvus, A. reflexus, A. remotus, A. reventiformis, A. reventus, A. riparius, A. ripleyi, A. robbinsii, A. rusbyi, A. sabulonum, A. sabulosus, A. salmonis, A. saurinus, A. scaphoides, A. schmolliae, A. sclerocarpus, A. scopulorum, A. sepultipes, A. serenoi, A. sericoleucus, A. serpens, A. sesquiflorus, A. sheldonii, A. shevockii, A. shortianus, A. siliceus, A. simplicifolius, A. sinuatus, A. solitarius, A. sophoroides, A. soxmaniorum, A. spaldingii, A. sparsiflorus, A. spatulatus, A. speirocarpus, A. straturensis, A. striatiflorus, A. subcinereus, A. subvestitus, A. succumbens, A. tegetarioides, A. tener, A. tennesseensis, A. tephrodes, A. terminalis, A. tetrapterus, A. thurberi, A. tibetanus, A. tidestromii, A. tiehmii, A. titanophilus, A. toanus, A. toquimanus, A. tortipes, A. traskiae, A. tricarinatus, A. trichopodus, A. tridactylicus, A. troglodytus, A. tweedyi, A. tyghensis, A. umbellatus, A. umbraticus, A. uncialis, A. utahensis, A. vaccarum, A. vallaris, A. vexilliflexus, A. villosus, A. wardii, A. waterfallii, A. webberi, A. welshii, A. wetherillii, A. whitneyi, A. williamsii, A. wingatanus, A. wittmannii, A. woodruffii, A. wootonii, A. wrightii, A. xiphoides, A. yoderwilliamsii, A. zionis
Subordinate taxa
A. flavus var. argillosus, A. flavus var. flavus, A. flavus var. higginsii
Name authority unknown Nuttall in J. Torrey and A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 335. (1838)
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