Astragalus mollissimus var. bigelovii |
Astragalus mollissimus var. thompsoniae |
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Bigelow's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed |
Thompson's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed |
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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. |
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Astragalus mollissimus var. bigelovii |
Astragalus mollissimus var. thompsoniae |
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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 |
AZ; NM; TX |
AZ; CO; ID; NM; NV; UT |
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 | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
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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