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Photo is of parent taxon

woolly locoweed

Photo is of parent taxon

Davis Mountains locoweed, woolly locoweed

Habit Plants usually shortly caulescent, sometimes subacaulescent, to 45 cm. Plants acaulescent or subacaulescent.
Stems

1.5–18 cm, internodes to 4 cm or obscured by imbricate stipules.

reduced to crowns.

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.

5–15 cm;

leaflets 15–19(or 21), blades ovate, obovate, or broadly elliptic, 4–15(–20) mm.

Racemes

(10–)15–40-flowered;

axis elongating, (2–)4–17 cm in fruit.

10–45-flowered;

axis 3–10 cm in fruit.

Peduncles

6–23 cm.

3.5–11 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.

calyx 6.8–9.9 mm, tube 5.2–6.4 × 2.8–3.5 mm, lobes 1.6–3.5 mm;

corolla pink-purple;

banner 11.8–16.3;

keel 10.3–12.5 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.

ovoid-acuminate to lanceolate-ellipsoid, usually solid, rarely slightly turgid, 6–10 × 3–5 mm, villous-hirsute, hairs 1+ mm;

beak bilocular.

Seeds

26–37.

12–16.

2n

= 22.

Astragalus mollissimus var. mollissimus

Astragalus mollissimus var. marcidus

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jul. 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. Open gravelly hillsides and rocky stream beds, on volcanic soils.
Elevation 500–1900 m. (1600–6200 ft.) 1500–2000 m. (4900–6600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; KS; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; WY
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Variety marcidus is known from Jeff Davis and Presidio counties of the trans-Pecos region.

(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. matthewsii, A. mollissimus var. mogollonicus, A. mollissimus var. thompsoniae
A. mollissimus var. bigelovii, A. mollissimus var. coryi, A. mollissimus var. earlei, A. mollissimus var. matthewsii, A. mollissimus var. mogollonicus, A. mollissimus var. mollissimus, A. mollissimus var. thompsoniae
Synonyms A. marcidus, A. bigelovii var. marcidus
Name authority unknown (Greene ex Rydberg) Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 743. (1964)
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