Flora of North America species comparison

obscured by marcescent leaf bases and stipules.

mostly reduced to phyllodia, few with leaflets, 0.8–10 cm;

stipules connate-sheathing throughout, 2–7 mm, papery-scarious;

leaflets 0(or 3–5), blades (phyllodia) oblanceolate to linear, 4–30 mm, apex acute, mucronate, or spinulose, surfaces strigose;

terminal leaflet often confluent with rachis.

densely 1–11-flowered;

axis 0.2–3.5 cm in fruit;

bracts 0.5–4 mm;

bracteoles 0.

erect or ascending, outer ones often prostrate in fruit, 0.4–9 cm.

0.3–1.7 mm.

5.7–9.5 mm;

calyx 2.6–5 mm, strigose, tube 1.9–3.4 mm, lobes subulate, 0.5–2.5 mm;

corolla pink purplish to ochroleucous or whitish;

banner recurved through 45°;

keel 4–6 mm.

erect, pale green tinged purple, with red-mottle, becoming brown or stramineous, straight or slightly curved, lanceoloid to lanceoloid-oblong, 2-sided, laterally compressed, 4–13 × 1.5–3.3 mm, papery, usually strigose, rarely glabrous;

sessile.

4–12.

.

(1983) regarded the widespread Astragalus wootonii as intergradient with A. allochrous, and the two are sympatric over much of the range of the latter.

placed A. wootonii into A. allochrous as var. playanus.

proposal has merit but merely moves the resolution of the problem of distinction to another level.; the plants contain swainsonine and are potentially poisonous to livestock (L.

.

and S.

.

1992).

= 24.