Astragalus flavus var. flavus |
Astragalus flavus var. argillosus |
|
---|---|---|
clay milkvetch |
||
Habit | Plants forming tufts. | Plants forming loose tufts. |
Racemes | slightly to much surpassing leaves. |
|
Peduncles | usually to 12 cm. |
5–10 cm. |
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. |
9–10.5 mm; calyx 6–10 mm, hirsute, tube 3–4.5 mm; corolla usually reddish lilac, reddish purple, or blue, rarely white. |
Seeds | 8–17. |
8–11. |
2n | = 24, 26. |
|
Astragalus flavus var. flavus |
Astragalus flavus var. argillosus |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jul(–Sep). | Flowering Apr–Jul. |
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. | Cretaceous Mancos Shale and Jurassic Summerville, Cedar Mountain, and Morrison formations, on saline clays and silts with salt desert shrubs. |
Elevation | 800–2300 m. (2600–7500 ft.) | 1200–1800 m. (3900–5900 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; CO; NM; UT; WY |
UT |
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.) |
Variety argillosus is common in east-central Utah. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | A. argillosus | |
Name authority | unknown | (M. E. Jones) Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 401. (1964) |
Web links |