Flora of North America species comparison

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Astragalus whitneyi var. lenophyllus

Astragalus whitneyi var. siskiyouensis
Photo is of parent taxon

balloonpod milkvetch, placer county milkvetch, Whitney's milk vetch, woolly-leaf milkvetch
Photo is of parent taxon

Siskiyou balloon milkvetch, Siskiyou milk vetch
Herbage

densely hirsutulous, hairs ascending or spreading, stiff, ± straight, 0.5–0.7 mm.

usually loosely strigulose in variable amounts, hairs appressed or narrowly ascending, straight or subsinuous, 0.4–0.6(–0.7) mm.
Stems

low, diffuse, 4–15(–20) cm.

low, diffuse, 10–30(–40) cm.
Leaves

(1.5–)2–4 cm;

leaflets 9–17, blades 3–13 mm.

3–9 cm;

leaflets 9–17(or 19), blades 4–18(–21) mm.
Racemes

5–9-flowered;

axis 0.5–2 cm in fruit.

4–16-flowered;

axis (2–)3–7 cm in fruit.
Flowers

calyx 5.8–9 mm, tube 4.4–5.6 mm, lobes 1.2–1.8 mm, hirsutulous, hairs white or mixed black and white;

corolla ochroleucous;

banner (8.3–)10–14.2(–16.5) mm.

calyx 4.6–5.6(–6) mm, tube 3.8–4.7 mm, lobes 0.5–1.5(–1.7) mm;

corolla ochroleucous, immaculate;

banner 9.5–13.5 mm.
Legumes

obovoid, tapering to base, 15–35(–42) × 10–20(–25) mm, glabrous;

stipe 3–5(–7) mm.

(15–)25–60(–75) × 10–25(–35) mm, glabrous;

stipe 3–6 mm.
Seeds

13–25.

(13–)15–22.

Astragalus whitneyi var. lenophyllus

Astragalus whitneyi var. siskiyouensis
Phenology Flowering Jul–Aug. Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Treeless summits and open, stony places in timber belt. Rocky slopes, ridge crests, usu­ally in pine forests but ascending into fir forests, on igneous or metamorphic bedrock, common on serpen­tine.
Elevation 2600–3100 m. (8500–10200 ft.) (700–)1200–2700 m. ((2300–)3900–8900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Variety lenophyllus is most common in open places along the crest of the Sierra Nevada in Placer and Nevada counties.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

The transparent fruits of var. siskiyouensis, with ovules readily apparent through the walls, are the largest for the species. Variety siskiyouensis occurs in northern Coastal Ranges in California and southwestern Oregon, passing in the Klamath Basin into var. confusus.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Astragalus > sect. Cusickiani > Astragalus whitneyi Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Astragalus > sect. Cusickiani > Astragalus whitneyi
Sibling taxa
A. whitneyi var. confusus, A. whitneyi var. siskiyouensis, A. whitneyi var. sonneanus, A. whitneyi var. whitneyi
A. whitneyi var. confusus, A. whitneyi var. lenophyllus, A. whitneyi var. sonneanus, A. whitneyi var. whitneyi
Synonyms Phaca lenophylla Phaca siskiyouensis, A. whitneyi subsp. siskiyouensis
Name authority (Rydberg) Barneby: Aliso 2: 205. (1950) (Rydberg) Barneby: Aliso 2: 205. (1950)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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