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Photo is of parent taxon

Bigelow's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed

Photo is of parent taxon

Thompson's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed

Habit Plants shortly caulescent, robust. Plants acaulescent, 6–45 cm, from caudex.
Stems

(0 or)3–17 cm.

mostly obscured by stipules.

Leaves

9–26 cm;

stipules 6–20 mm;

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

2–28 cm;

stipules 4–13 mm;

leaflets 15–35, blades obovate to suborbiculate or elliptic, 2–18 mm.

Racemes

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

axis (4–)5–11 cm in fruit.

7–25-flowered;

axis 1.5–18 cm in fruit.

Peduncles

(5–)8–22 cm.

2.5–24 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 11–15.5 mm, tube 7.7–13 mm, lobes 2–4.2 mm;

corolla pink-purple;

banner 18–25 mm;

keel 15–18.5(–20.5) 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.

curved, ovoid, turgid, 11–23 × 6–11 mm, densely villous-tomentose;

beak unilocular.

Seeds

20–31.

28–38.

2n

= 22.

Astragalus mollissimus var. bigelovii

Astragalus mollissimus var. thompsoniae

Phenology Flowering (Jan–)Mar–Jun. Flowering Mar–Jun (Oct).
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. Salt desert shrub, mixed desert shrub, grasslands, and pinyon-juniper communities, usually on sandy substrates.
Elevation 1200–1900(–2300) m. (3900–6200(–7500) ft.) (700–)1100–2400 m. ((2300–)3600–7900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; TX
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; ID; NM; NV; UT
[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.)

Variety thompsoniae is transitional with var. matthewsii in northwestern 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. earlei, A. mollissimus var. marcidus, A. mollissimus var. matthewsii, A. mollissimus var. mogollonicus, A. mollissimus var. mollissimus
Synonyms A. bigelovii A. thompsoniae
Name authority (A. Gray) Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 742. (1964) (S. Watson) Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 747. (1964) — (as thompsonae)
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