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Photo is of parent taxon

Thompson's woolly locoweed, woolly locoweed

Photo is of parent taxon

woolly locoweed

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

mostly obscured by stipules.

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

Leaves

2–28 cm;

stipules 4–13 mm;

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

(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.

Racemes

7–25-flowered;

axis 1.5–18 cm in fruit.

(10–)15–40-flowered;

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

Peduncles

2.5–24 cm.

6–23 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 (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.

Legumes

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

beak unilocular.

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.

Seeds

28–38.

26–37.

2n

= 22.

Astragalus mollissimus var. thompsoniae

Astragalus mollissimus var. mollissimus

Phenology Flowering Mar–Jun (Oct). Flowering Apr–Jul.
Habitat Salt desert shrub, mixed desert shrub, grasslands, and pinyon-juniper communities, usually on sandy substrates. 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.
Elevation (700–)1100–2400 m. ((2300–)3600–7900 ft.) 500–1900 m. (1600–6200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; ID; NM; NV; UT
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CO; KS; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; WY
[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.)

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.)

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