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Photo is of parent taxon

Thompson's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed

Photo is of parent taxon

Cory's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed

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

mostly obscured by stipules.

2–25 cm, hairs spirally twisted, to 1.6–2.8 mm.

Leaves

2–28 cm;

stipules 4–13 mm;

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

(4–)6–20 cm;

stipules (5–)7–15 mm;

leaflets (11–)17–25(–29), blades usually obovate or oblong-oval, sometimes rhombic-obovate, 5–18 mm.

Racemes

7–25-flowered;

axis 1.5–18 cm in fruit.

densely 15–45-flowered;

axis 3.5–9 cm in fruit.

Peduncles

2.5–24 cm.

8–21 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 10.5–14 mm, tube 7–8.7 × 3–4 mm, lobes (3.3–)3.7–5.5 mm;

corolla cream;

banner (14.4–)15–20.3 mm;

keel 12–17.4 mm.

Legumes

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

beak unilocular.

narrowly ovoid or oblong-ellipsoid, 10–17 × 4.5–7 mm, glabrous or sparsely hispidulous (distally);

beak unilocular.

Seeds

28–38.

Astragalus mollissimus var. thompsoniae

Astragalus mollissimus var. coryi

Phenology Flowering Mar–Jun (Oct). Flowering Mar–May.
Habitat Salt desert shrub, mixed desert shrub, grasslands, and pinyon-juniper communities, usually on sandy substrates. Calcareous clay flats and depressions on rolling plains.
Elevation (700–)1100–2400 m. ((2300–)3600–7900 ft.) 500–1000 m. (1600–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; ID; NM; NV; UT
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
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 coryi is locally abundant on the northwestern Edwards Plateau in Crockett, Howard, Irion, Martin, Reagan, Schleicher, Sterling, and Upton counties.

(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. bigelovii, 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. argillophilus
Name authority (S. Watson) Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 747. (1964) — (as thompsonae) Tidestrom: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 50: 21. (1937)
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