The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links
Photo is of parent taxon

Thompson's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed

Photo is of parent taxon

Matthews woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed

Habit Plants acaulescent, 6–45 cm, from caudex. Plants acaulescent or subacaulescent.
Stems

mostly obscured by stipules.

to 1.5 cm, obscured by imbricate stipules.

Leaves

2–28 cm;

stipules 4–13 mm;

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

(3–)5–12 cm;

stipules (3–)4–8 mm;

leaflets 11–23, blades obovate, 3–12 mm.

Racemes

7–25-flowered;

axis 1.5–18 cm in fruit.

(5–)7–12-flowered;

axis (0.5–)1–4.5 cm in fruit, not or scarcely surpassing foliage.

Peduncles

2.5–24 cm.

scapiform, (1.5–)2.5–8 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 10–13 mm, tube 7–8.6 × 3.4–4.7 mm, lobes 2.4–5.2 mm;

corolla pale purple;

banner 18.5–22.5 mm;

keel 14.2–18 mm.

Legumes

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

beak unilocular.

gently or abruptly incurved distally, broadly ovoid, turgid, 12–18 × 7–13 mm, widest near obtuse or truncate base, densely villous-tomentose;

beak bilocular.

Seeds

28–38.

24–31.

Astragalus mollissimus var. thompsoniae

Astragalus mollissimus var. matthewsii

Phenology Flowering Mar–Jun (Oct). Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Salt desert shrub, mixed desert shrub, grasslands, and pinyon-juniper communities, usually on sandy substrates. Open slopes and hilltops, in ponderosa pine forests, along canyons to juniper-pinyon belt, on light, sandy or gravelly, sedimentary, granitic, or volcanic soils.
Elevation (700–)1100–2400 m. ((2300–)3600–7900 ft.) 1900–2600 m. (6200–8500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; ID; NM; NV; UT
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; NM
[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 matthewsii is scattered and uncommon in Apache County in eastern Arizona and from Santa Fe to McKinley counties in the mountains of north-central and 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. mollissimus
A. mollissimus var. bigelovii, A. mollissimus var. coryi, A. mollissimus var. earlei, A. mollissimus var. marcidus, A. mollissimus var. mogollonicus, A. mollissimus var. mollissimus, A. mollissimus var. thompsoniae
Synonyms A. thompsoniae A. matthewsii, A. bigelovii var. matthewsii
Name authority (S. Watson) Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 747. (1964) — (as thompsonae) (S. Watson) Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13: 746. (1964)
Web links