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Photo is of parent taxon

woolly locoweed

Photo is of parent taxon

Thompson's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed

Habit Plants usually shortly caulescent, sometimes subacaulescent, to 45 cm. Plants acaulescent, 6–45 cm, from caudex.
Stems

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

mostly obscured by 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.

2–28 cm;

stipules 4–13 mm;

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

Racemes

(10–)15–40-flowered;

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

7–25-flowered;

axis 1.5–18 cm in fruit.

Peduncles

6–23 cm.

2.5–24 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 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

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.

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

beak unilocular.

Seeds

26–37.

28–38.

2n

= 22.

Astragalus mollissimus var. mollissimus

Astragalus mollissimus var. thompsoniae

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jul. Flowering Mar–Jun (Oct).
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. Salt desert shrub, mixed desert shrub, grasslands, and pinyon-juniper communities, usually on sandy substrates.
Elevation 500–1900 m. (1600–6200 ft.) (700–)1100–2400 m. ((2300–)3600–7900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; KS; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; WY
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; ID; NM; NV; UT
[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 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. 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. marcidus, A. mollissimus var. matthewsii, A. mollissimus var. mogollonicus, A. mollissimus var. mollissimus
Synonyms A. thompsoniae
Name authority unknown (S. Watson) Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 747. (1964) — (as thompsonae)
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