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Photo is of parent taxon

freckled milkvetch, fumbling milk vetch, homely milkvetch

Photo is of parent taxon

Fish Slough milk vetch

Habit Plants perennial, (1–)3–30 cm, herbage loosely strigulose or villosulous. Plants perennial, to 100 cm.
Stems

prostrate.

Leaves

1.5–5.5 cm;

leaflets (9–)15–21, crowded, blades obovate or oblanceolate, (1–)2–10 mm, apex obtuse or retuse.

2–5 cm;

leaflets 3 or 5, blades linear-oblanceolate, 7–15 mm, terminal leaflet 14–30 mm, apex obtuse or subacute.

Racemes

(4–)10–21-flowered, short and compact in fruit;

axis (0.3–)1–2.5 cm in fruit.

shortly 5–12-flowered, short and compact in fruit;

axis 1.5–4 cm in fruit.

Peduncles

0.5–2 cm.

2–5.5 cm.

Flowers

(8.8–)9.8–12 mm;

calyx (4.8–)5.4–7.3 mm, tube (3.6–)3.9–4.9 mm, lobes (1–)1.2–2.4 mm;

corolla whitish or cream, sometimes with pink tips.

13 mm;

calyx 7 mm, tube 4.5 mm, lobes 2.5 mm;

corolla purple.

Legumes

usually faintly mottled becoming stramineous, plumply ovoid- or ellipsoid-acuminate, strongly inflated, 10–18 × (5–)6–12 mm, thinly papery, strigulose or, sometimes, glabrous;

beak erect or incurved, deltoid, 3–5 mm, unilocular.

mottled, ovoid-acuminate, moderately inflated, 20–24 × 8–12 mm, stiffly papery, strigulose;

beak incurved, 4.5–7 mm, bilocular.

Seeds

(12–)14–19.

18.

Astragalus lentiginosus var. ineptus

Astragalus lentiginosus var. piscinensis

Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Gravelly slopes, ridges, and talus, on coarse granitic sand or volcanic tuff, in bristlecone pine and alpine tundra communities. Saline seep, moist at least in springtime, growing with Ivesia, Juncus, and other herbs.
Elevation 1800–3700 m. (5900–12100 ft.) 1200–1300 m. (3900–4300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Variety ineptus occurs along the eastern face of the Sierra Nevada from Alpine County southward to the Inconsolable Range, Inyo County, Sweetwater Mountains, Mono County, and Bonita Meadows, Tulare County.

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

Variety piscinensis is known from Fish Slough northwest of Bishop in Mono County. It is similar in habit to vars. multiracemosus and sesquimetralis.

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

Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Astragalus > sect. Diphysi > Astragalus lentiginosus Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Astragalus > sect. Diphysi > Astragalus lentiginosus
Sibling taxa
A. lentiginosus var. albifolius, A. lentiginosus var. ambiguus, A. lentiginosus var. antonius, A. lentiginosus var. australis, A. lentiginosus var. chartaceus, A. lentiginosus var. coachellae, A. lentiginosus var. coulteri, A. lentiginosus var. diphysus, A. lentiginosus var. floribundus, A. lentiginosus var. fremontii, A. lentiginosus var. higginsii, A. lentiginosus var. idriensis, A. lentiginosus var. kennedyi, A. lentiginosus var. kernensis, A. lentiginosus var. latus, A. lentiginosus var. lentiginosus, A. lentiginosus var. macrolobus, A. lentiginosus var. maricopae, A. lentiginosus var. micans, A. lentiginosus var. mokiacensis, A. lentiginosus var. multiracemosus, A. lentiginosus var. negundo, A. lentiginosus var. nigricalycis, A. lentiginosus var. oropedii, A. lentiginosus var. palans, A. lentiginosus var. piscinensis, A. lentiginosus var. platyphyllidius, A. lentiginosus var. pohlii, A. lentiginosus var. salinus, A. lentiginosus var. scorpionis, A. lentiginosus var. semotus, A. lentiginosus var. sesquimetralis, A. lentiginosus var. sierrae, A. lentiginosus var. stramineus, A. lentiginosus var. toyabensis, A. lentiginosus var. trumbullensis, A. lentiginosus var. variabilis, A. lentiginosus var. vitreus, A. lentiginosus var. wahweapensis, A. lentiginosus var. wilsonii, A. lentiginosus var. yuccanus
A. lentiginosus var. albifolius, A. lentiginosus var. ambiguus, A. lentiginosus var. antonius, A. lentiginosus var. australis, A. lentiginosus var. chartaceus, A. lentiginosus var. coachellae, A. lentiginosus var. coulteri, A. lentiginosus var. diphysus, A. lentiginosus var. floribundus, A. lentiginosus var. fremontii, A. lentiginosus var. higginsii, A. lentiginosus var. idriensis, A. lentiginosus var. ineptus, A. lentiginosus var. kennedyi, A. lentiginosus var. kernensis, A. lentiginosus var. latus, A. lentiginosus var. lentiginosus, A. lentiginosus var. macrolobus, A. lentiginosus var. maricopae, A. lentiginosus var. micans, A. lentiginosus var. mokiacensis, A. lentiginosus var. multiracemosus, A. lentiginosus var. negundo, A. lentiginosus var. nigricalycis, A. lentiginosus var. oropedii, A. lentiginosus var. palans, A. lentiginosus var. platyphyllidius, A. lentiginosus var. pohlii, A. lentiginosus var. salinus, A. lentiginosus var. scorpionis, A. lentiginosus var. semotus, A. lentiginosus var. sesquimetralis, A. lentiginosus var. sierrae, A. lentiginosus var. stramineus, A. lentiginosus var. toyabensis, A. lentiginosus var. trumbullensis, A. lentiginosus var. variabilis, A. lentiginosus var. vitreus, A. lentiginosus var. wahweapensis, A. lentiginosus var. wilsonii, A. lentiginosus var. yuccanus
Synonyms A. ineptus
Name authority (A. Gray) M. E. Jones: Rev. N.-Amer. Astragalus, 124. (1923) Barneby: Brittonia 29: 378, fig. 2. (1977)
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