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Photo is of parent taxon

Matthews woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed

Photo is of parent taxon

Mogollon woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed

Habit Plants acaulescent or subacaulescent. Plants acaulescent, usually dwarf.
Stems

to 1.5 cm, obscured by imbricate stipules.

reduced to thick crowns, closely invested with stipules.

Leaves

(3–)5–12 cm;

stipules (3–)4–8 mm;

leaflets 11–23, blades obovate, 3–12 mm.

(4–)6–16 cm;

stipules 5–12 mm;

leaflets (9–)13–23, blades broadly elliptic to suborbiculate, 3–13 mm.

Racemes

(5–)7–12-flowered;

axis (0.5–)1–4.5 cm in fruit, not or scarcely surpassing foliage.

densely 12–32-flowered;

axis 1.5–6 cm in fruit.

Peduncles

scapiform, (1.5–)2.5–8 cm.

scapiform, 4–10 cm.

Flowers

calyx 10–13 mm, tube 7–8.6 × 3.4–4.7 mm, lobes 2.4–5.2 mm;

corolla pale purple;

banner 18.5–22.5 mm;

keel 14.2–18 mm.

calyx 10–15.3 mm, tube 6.6–8.5 × 3.2–5 mm, lobes 3.3–6.8 mm;

corolla pink-purple;

banner 16–21.5 mm;

keel 12.5–14.5 mm.

Legumes

gently or abruptly incurved distally, broadly ovoid, turgid, 12–18 × 7–13 mm, widest near obtuse or truncate base, densely villous-tomentose;

beak bilocular.

± straight to gently incurved, narrowly ovoid or lunately ellipsoid, 9–13 × 4.5–6 mm, densely villous-tomentose, hairs to 1.6–2.6 mm;

beak bilocular.

Seeds

24–31.

19–28.

Astragalus mollissimus var. matthewsii

Astragalus mollissimus var. mogollonicus

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun. Flowering Apr–Jul.
Habitat Open slopes and hilltops, in ponderosa pine forests, along canyons to juniper-pinyon belt, on light, sandy or gravelly, sedimentary, granitic, or volcanic soils. Stony flats and hilltops, on pebbly, volcanic soils of open ponderosa pine forests, on limestone substrates, rocky knolls in pinyon-juniper belt.
Elevation 1900–2600 m. (6200–8500 ft.) 1800–2300 m. (5900–7500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; NM
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Variety matthewsii is scattered and uncommon in Apache County in eastern Arizona and from Santa Fe to McKinley counties in the mountains of north-central and northwestern New Mexico.

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

D. Isely (1998) viewed var. mogollonicus as a reduced phase of var. bigelovii, but var. mogollonicus is distinguished by its acaulescent growth habit and scapiform peduncles. It occurs from the Kaibab Plateau south of the Grand Canyon in Arizona to the southeast along the Mogollon Escarpment to western 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. bigelovii, A. mollissimus var. coryi, A. mollissimus var. earlei, A. mollissimus var. marcidus, 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. mollissimus, A. mollissimus var. thompsoniae
Synonyms A. matthewsii, A. bigelovii var. matthewsii A. mogollonicus, A. bigelovii var. mogollonicus
Name authority (S. Watson) Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 746. (1964) (Greene) Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 745. (1964)
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