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

mat milk vetch, mountain kentrophyta

Photo is of parent taxon

Mount Dana kentrophyta, spiny milkvetch, Sweetwater Mountains. milk vetch

Habit Plants prostrate, cushion-forming, 5–40(–50) cm wide. Plants prostrate, mat- or cushion-forming, to 15 cm wide.
Stems

and herbage densely to sparsely strigulose, villosulous, or villous, hairs basifixed.

and herbage strigulose, hairs basifixed.

Leaves

(0.2–)0.4–1.5(–2) cm;

stipules 2–7 mm;

leaflets (3 or)5–9, blades 1–9 mm, surfaces pubescent or adaxially glabrous or medially glabrescent.

0.4–1.5(–2) cm;

stipules somewhat dimorphic, 2–7 mm;

leaflets 3(–7), blades 3–7 mm.

Peduncles

0–1.5(–3) cm.

0.2–0.6 cm.

Flowers

(3.9–)4.5–8(–9.2) mm;

calyx (2–)2.4–5.7(–7) mm, tube 1.2–2.6(–2.8) mm, lobes subulate to setaceous, (0.5–)1.9–2.6(–4.2) mm;

corolla usually purple or purplish, sometimes white and keel tip pink or purplish.

4–5.6 mm;

calyx 2.4–3.2 mm, tube 1.6–1.9 mm, lobes subulate to setaceous, 0.8–1.3 mm;

corolla purple or whitish and keel purple.

Legumes

ellipsoid or oblong-ellipsoid, (3–)4–8(–9) × (0.6–)2–2.5 mm.

subsymmetrically lenticular, 3.5–5 × 2–2.5 mm.

Seeds

(3–)5–8.

5–8.

2n

= 24.

= 24.

Astragalus kentrophyta var. tegetarius

Astragalus kentrophyta var. danaus

Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep. Flowering Jul–Sep.
Habitat Ridgetops, breaks, alpine shrub and tundra with Phlox, Geum rossii, other forbs, grasses, less commonly with shrubs and trees, often in barrens. Gravelly slopes and talus upward from timberline, or in bristle-cone pine forest.
Elevation 2000–3700 m. (6600–12100 ft.) 3000–4000 m. (9800–13100 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WY
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The moderately large, usually purplish flowers borne just above the mat of foliage set var. tegetarius apart and make it one of the showiest phases of the species.

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

Variety danaus is restricted to high elevations in the southern Sierra Nevada.

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

Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Astragalus > sect. Ervoidei > Astragalus kentrophyta Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Astragalus > sect. Ervoidei > Astragalus kentrophyta
Sibling taxa
A. kentrophyta var. coloradoensis, A. kentrophyta var. danaus, A. kentrophyta var. douglasii, A. kentrophyta var. elatus, A. kentrophyta var. jessiae, A. kentrophyta var. kentrophyta, A. kentrophyta var. neomexicanus, A. kentrophyta var. ungulatus
A. kentrophyta var. coloradoensis, A. kentrophyta var. douglasii, A. kentrophyta var. elatus, A. kentrophyta var. jessiae, A. kentrophyta var. kentrophyta, A. kentrophyta var. neomexicanus, A. kentrophyta var. tegetarius, A. kentrophyta var. ungulatus
Synonyms A. tegetarius, A. aculeatus, A. kentrophyta subsp. implexus, A. kentrophyta var. implexus, A. kentrophyta var. rotundus, A. montanus var. rotundus, A. montanus var. tegetarius, A. tegetarius var. implexus, A. tegetarius var. rotundus, Homalobus aculeatus, H. tegetarius, H. wolfii, Kentrophyta aculeata, K. minima, K. rotunda, K. tegetaria, K. wolfii, Tragacantha tegetaria A. tegetarius var. danaus
Name authority (S. Watson) Dorn: Vasc. Pl. Wyoming, 297. (1988) (Barneby) Barneby: Leafl. W. Bot. 6: 154. (1951)
Web links