Astragalus mollissimus var. bigelovii |
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Bigelow's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed |
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Habit | Plants shortly caulescent, robust. |
Stems | (0 or)3–17 cm. |
Leaves | 9–26 cm; stipules 6–20 mm; leaflets (13–)19–27, blades ovate, obovate, oval, or broadly elliptic, 6–25 mm. |
Racemes | somewhat densely (15–)20–45-flowered, flowers subcontiguous or interrupted proximally; axis (4–)5–11 cm in fruit. |
Peduncles | (5–)8–22 cm. |
Flowers | calyx 10.5–13.5 cm, tube (8–)8.3–10.3 × (3.2–)4–5.2 mm, lobes (1.7–)2.6–4.4 mm; corolla pink-purple; banner 17–22.5 mm; keel 13.5–18.5 mm. |
Legumes | gently incurved or ± straight, ovoid-acuminate or lanceoloid-ellipsoid, sometimes slightly turgid, 10–15 × (4–)4.5–8 mm, stiffly papery or leathery, densely villous-tomentulose, hairs to 1–1.6 mm; beak bilocular. |
Seeds | 20–31. |
2n | = 22. |
Astragalus mollissimus var. bigelovii |
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Phenology | Flowering (Jan–)Mar–Jun. |
Habitat | Dry plains and foothills, in desert- or mesquite-grasslands, among junipers, on calcareous soils, sandy loams, basalt gravel, over-grazed and badly eroded cattle ranges. |
Elevation | 1200–1900(–2300) m. (3900–6200(–7500) ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; NM; TX |
Discussion | Variety bigelovii is known from extreme western Texas to southeastern Arizona and in New Mexico as far north as Socorro County and the Plains of San Augustin in Catron County. D. Isely (1998) recognized var. bigelovii at the species level, and included with it vars. marcidus, matthewsii, and mogollonicus, primarily on the basis of the completely bilocular fruits. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | A. bigelovii |
Name authority | (A. Gray) Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 742. (1964) |
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