Astragalus kentrophyta var. tegetarius |
Astragalus kentrophyta var. douglasii |
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mat milk vetch, mountain kentrophyta |
Douglas kentrophyta, Douglas' spiny milkvetch, spiny millk-vetch, thistle milk-vetch |
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Habit | Plants prostrate, cushion-forming, 5–40(–50) cm wide. | Plants prostrate, densely mat-forming, becoming suffruticose. |
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. |
1–1.7 cm; stipules dimorphic, 2–5 mm; leaflets 5(or 7), blades 5–12 mm, surfaces pubescent. |
Peduncles | 0–1.5(–3) cm. |
subobsolete. |
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. |
5.8 mm; calyx 4.7–5.2 mm, tube 2.2–2.4 mm, lobes subulate, spinulose, 2.3–3 mm; corolla whitish. |
Legumes | ellipsoid or oblong-ellipsoid, (3–)4–8(–9) × (0.6–)2–2.5 mm. |
lanceoloid, 5–5.5 × 2 mm. |
Seeds | (3–)5–8. |
2. |
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Astragalus kentrophyta var. tegetarius |
Astragalus kentrophyta var. douglasii |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Sep. | Flowering Jun. |
Habitat | Ridgetops, breaks, alpine shrub and tundra with Phlox, Geum rossii, other forbs, grasses, less commonly with shrubs and trees, often in barrens. | Sandy substrates. |
Elevation | 2000–3700 m. (6600–12100 ft.) | 150–400 m. (500–1300 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WY |
OR; WA |
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 douglasii is known from only a few, vague historical records, probably taken near the present city of Walla Walla near the Great Bend of the Columbia River, and appears to be extinct. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
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 | |
Name authority | (S. Watson) Dorn: Vasc. Pl. Wyoming, 297. (1988) | Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 364. (1964) |
Web links |