Astragalus mollissimus var. thompsoniae |
Astragalus mollissimus var. bigelovii |
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Thompson's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed |
Bigelow's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed |
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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. |
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Astragalus mollissimus var. thompsoniae |
Astragalus mollissimus var. bigelovii |
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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 |
AZ; CO; ID; NM; NV; UT |
AZ; NM; TX |
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 | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
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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