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Photo is of parent taxon

Thompson's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed

Photo is of parent taxon

Bigelow's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed

Habit Plants acaulescent, 6–45 cm, from caudex. Plants shortly caulescent, robust.
Stems

mostly obscured by stipules.

(0 or)3–17 cm.

Leaves

2–28 cm;

stipules 4–13 mm;

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

9–26 cm;

stipules 6–20 mm;

leaflets (13–)19–27, blades ovate, obovate, oval, or broadly elliptic, 6–25 mm.

Racemes

7–25-flowered;

axis 1.5–18 cm in fruit.

somewhat densely (15–)20–45-flowered, flowers subcontiguous or interrupted proximally;

axis (4–)5–11 cm in fruit.

Peduncles

2.5–24 cm.

(5–)8–22 cm.

Flowers

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.

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.

Legumes

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

beak unilocular.

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.

Seeds

28–38.

20–31.

2n

= 22.

Astragalus mollissimus var. thompsoniae

Astragalus mollissimus var. bigelovii

Phenology Flowering Mar–Jun (Oct). Flowering (Jan–)Mar–Jun.
Habitat Salt desert shrub, mixed desert shrub, grasslands, and pinyon-juniper communities, usually on sandy substrates. 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.
Elevation (700–)1100–2400 m. ((2300–)3600–7900 ft.) 1200–1900(–2300) m. (3900–6200(–7500) ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; ID; NM; NV; UT
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; NM; TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Variety thompsoniae is transitional with var. matthewsii in northwestern New Mexico.

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

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.)

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. mollissimus
A. mollissimus var. coryi, A. mollissimus var. earlei, A. mollissimus var. marcidus, A. mollissimus var. matthewsii, A. mollissimus var. mogollonicus, A. mollissimus var. mollissimus, A. mollissimus var. thompsoniae
Synonyms A. thompsoniae A. bigelovii
Name authority (S. Watson) Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 747. (1964) — (as thompsonae) (A. Gray) Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 742. (1964)
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