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Photo is of parent taxon

soda springs milkvetch, Sodaville milk vetch

Photo is of parent taxon

freckled milkvetch, straggling milkvetch

Habit Plants perennial, to 70–80 cm. Plants perennial (sometimes short-lived), (10–)15–35(–40) cm, herbage green or subglabrescent.
Stems

prostrate.

Leaves

2–5 cm;

leaflets 9–15(or 17), blades oblanceolate, 6–18 mm, terminal leaflet 7–15 mm, apex obtuse or subacute.

(3.5–)5–11cm;

leaflets 13–21(or 23), blades broadly obovate-cuneate, oblong-elliptic, oblong-oblanceolate, or suborbiculate-obcordate, (3–)5–17(–23) mm, apex obtuse, emarginate, or subacute, adaxial surface glabrous.

Racemes

shortly and loosely 6–12-flowered, short and compact in fruit;

axis 1–2 cm in fruit.

loosely (6–)10–28-flowered;

axis elongating or not, (1–)2–12(–14.5) cm in fruit.

Peduncles

1.5–4 cm.

(3.5–)5–11 cm.

Flowers

14–14.5 mm;

calyx 7–8 mm, tube 4.8–5.5 mm, lobes 2.2–2.5 mm;

corolla purple.

13.5–17.5(–18.3) mm;

calyx 6.3–9.4 mm, tube 4.7–6.8 mm, lobes (0.9–)1.1–3(–4) mm;

corolla pink-purple.

Legumes

mottled, ovoid or broadly lanceoloid, moderately inflated, 16–26 × 9–12 mm, semibilocular, stiffly papery, strigulose;

beak incurved, 4–8 mm, unilocular.

spreading, declined, or spreading-ascending, green becoming stramineous then blackish, ± straight to uniformly or hamately incurved, obliquely linear-lanceoloid to narrowly ovoid-acuminate, not or scarcely inflated, dehiscent on ground, (12–)15–27 × 4–8.5 mm, ± bilocular, somewhat fleshy becoming leathery or stiffly papery, glabrous or strigulose;

beak 5–8 mm, unilocular.

Seeds

12–20.

20–42.

2n

= 22.

Astragalus lentiginosus var. sesquimetralis

Astragalus lentiginosus var. palans

Phenology Flowering May–Jun. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Saline, seasonally moist clay flats, around seeps and springs. Salt-desert shrub, blackbrush, juniper, pinyon-juniper, and mixed desert shrub com­munities.
Elevation 900–1400 m. (3000–4600 ft.) 1100–1900 m. (3600–6200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; UT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The branches of var. sesquimetralis radiate, forming large, round plants that hug the ground. This habit, coupled with a long season of available water, is evidently conducive to long-continuing flowering and fruiting but is not necessarily an indication of a near relationship to other taxa that are similar (see discussion under 285c. var. multiracemosus). The variety is restricted to southern Mineral County, Nevada, and northern Inyo County, California.

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

Variety palans is known from northern Arizona, excluding the Coconino Plateau and upper Verde Valley, and from southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah.

There is no substantial difference between material included within the concept of var. palans and Astragalus bryantii, which R. C. Barneby (1964) included within sect. Leptocarpi. S. L. Welsh (2007) considered it significant that fallen fruits, characteristic of var. palans, are included with the type collection of A. bryantii.

(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. 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. piscinensis, A. lentiginosus var. platyphyllidius, A. lentiginosus var. pohlii, A. lentiginosus var. salinus, A. lentiginosus var. scorpionis, A. lentiginosus var. semotus, 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. 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
Synonyms Cystium sesquimetrale A. palans, A. bryantii
Name authority (Rydberg) Barneby: Leafl. W. Bot. 4: 116. (1945) (M. E. Jones) M. E. Jones: Contr. W. Bot. 8: 4. (1898)
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