Astragalus mollissimus var. mollissimus |
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woolly locoweed |
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Habit | Plants usually shortly caulescent, sometimes subacaulescent, to 45 cm. |
Stems | 1.5–18 cm, internodes to 4 cm or obscured by imbricate stipules. |
Leaves | (7–)10–20(–25) cm; stipules (5–)7–17 mm; leaflets 15–27(–33), blades usually oval, ovate, or obovate, sometimes rhombic-elliptic, 5–22 mm. |
Racemes | (10–)15–40-flowered; axis elongating, (2–)4–17 cm in fruit. |
Peduncles | 6–23 cm. |
Flowers | calyx (8.8–)10.5–14 mm, tube 6.8–9.5 × 3.4–4.5 mm, lobes (2–)3–5 mm; corolla pinkish, pink-purple, pale yellow, or yellowish suffused with dull lavender; banner (16–)17.5–21.5 mm; keel 14–18 mm. |
Legumes | shallowly crescentic or abruptly incurved near middle through ± 90°, contracted distally, narrowly oblong-ellipsoid to lanceoloid-ellipsoid, 14–24 × 4–7 mm, mostly glabrous and apex usually puberulent or hispidulous, rarely puberulent, sometimes shortly villosulous throughout; beak unilocular. |
Seeds | 26–37. |
2n | = 22. |
Astragalus mollissimus var. mollissimus |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jul. |
Habitat | Prairies, plains, valley floors, stony mesas, and fallow fields on alluvial loams, loess, on outcrops of shale, limestone, or sandstone, most abundant where vegetation is low and sparse. |
Elevation | 500–1900 m. (1600–6200 ft.) |
Distribution |
CO; KS; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; WY |
Discussion | Flowers of var. mollissimus are normally dull purplish, but in some New Mexico populations they are a pure pale yellow, the basis of forma flavus McGregor. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | |
Sibling taxa | |
Name authority | unknown |
Web links |