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Photo is of parent taxon

Bigelow's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed

Photo is of parent taxon

Earle's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed

Habit Plants shortly caulescent, robust. Plants subacaulescent or shortly caulescent.
Stems

(0 or)3–17 cm.

to 10(–16) cm.

Leaves

9–26 cm;

stipules 6–20 mm;

leaflets (13–)19–27, blades ovate, obovate, oval, or broadly elliptic, 6–25 mm.

8–32 cm;

stipules 5–15 mm;

leaflets 19–35, blades oblanceolate, rhombic-ovate, or rhombic-obovate, (5–)10–30(–45) mm.

Racemes

somewhat densely (15–)20–45-flowered, flowers subcontiguous or interrupted proximally;

axis (4–)5–11 cm in fruit.

15–36-flowered;

axis elongating, 4–15 cm in fruit.

Peduncles

(5–)8–22 cm.

(5–)8–17 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.

calyx (8.5–)8.8–10.5 mm, tube (4.5–)5–7 × 0.8–3(–3.2) mm, lobes 2.4–4 mm;

corolla pink-purple or yellowish tipped and suffused or margined with dull purple;

banner 12–17.5 mm;

keel 9–13 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.

± incurved, abruptly contracted distally, obliquely ovoid-ellipsoid or lanceoloid-ellipsoid, 9–14 × 4–6.5(–9) mm, usually sparsely villous-tomentulose or loosely strigulose, rarely glabrate or glabrous, hairs ascending and almost straight, or subappressed and curly, less than 1 mm;

beak bilocular.

Seeds

20–31.

20–30.

2n

= 22.

= 22, 24.

Astragalus mollissimus var. bigelovii

Astragalus mollissimus var. earlei

Phenology Flowering (Jan–)Mar–Jun. Flowering 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. Dry hills and grassy plains, on volcanic and calcareous soils.
Elevation 1200–1900(–2300) m. (3900–6200(–7500) ft.) 1100–1800 m. (3600–5900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; TX
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
NM; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua)
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Within the flora area, var. earlei is a plant common in the trans-Pecos region of Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

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

Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Astragalus > sect. Mollissimi > Astragalus mollissimus Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Astragalus > sect. Mollissimi > Astragalus mollissimus
Sibling taxa
A. mollissimus var. coryi, A. mollissimus var. earlei, A. mollissimus var. marcidus, A. mollissimus var. matthewsii, A. mollissimus var. mogollonicus, A. mollissimus var. mollissimus, A. mollissimus var. thompsoniae
A. mollissimus var. bigelovii, A. mollissimus var. coryi, A. mollissimus var. marcidus, A. mollissimus var. matthewsii, A. mollissimus var. mogollonicus, A. mollissimus var. mollissimus, A. mollissimus var. thompsoniae
Synonyms A. bigelovii A. earlei
Name authority (A. Gray) Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 742. (1964) (Greene ex Rydberg) Tidestrom: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 48: 40. (1935)
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