Flora of North America species comparison

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Oxytropis campestris var. cusickii

Oxytropis campestris var. jordalii
Photo is of parent taxon

Cusick's field crazyweed, Cusick's field locoweed, Cusick's locoweed, Cusick's oxytrope, field locoweed, yellow locoweed
Photo is of parent taxon

jordal's field locoweed, jordal's locoweed, jordal's oxytrope
Habit Plants 4–15(–21) cm, herbage sparsely to densely pilose. Plants 5–12(–18) cm, herbage sparsely pilose, hairs subappressed.
Leaves

1.2–12 cm;

stipules glabrous or sparsely pilose proximally, margins ciliate or eciliate;

leaflets 7–15(–17), opposite, subopposite, or scattered, blades 4–23 mm.

1.5–9 cm;

stipules glabrous or strigose abaxially, margins ± ciliate, apex often bristly;

leaflets 9–19, scattered or opposite, blades 1–11 mm.
Racemes

3–15-flowered, subcapitate to somewhat elongate.

usually 2–9-flowered, subcapitate or somewhat elongate.
Peduncles

prostrate to erect, 2–19 cm, glabrate, appressed-pilose, or villous-pilose, axis 0.5–3(–6) cm in fruit.

3–12(–14) cm, axis 1–4.5 cm in fruit.
Corollas

whitish or yellowish throughout, keel tip usually not maculate, 14–18(–20) mm.

whitish or yellowish, sometimes polychrome, 10–14(–15) mm.
Calyces

tube 6–9 mm, lobes 1–3.5(–4) mm.

tube (3.7–)4–5.5 mm, lobes 1–1.5 mm.
Legumes

10–19 × 3.5–5(–6) mm.

9–12 × 3.5–5 mm.
2n

= 48.

= 32.

Oxytropis campestris var. cusickii

Oxytropis campestris var. jordalii
Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering spring–summer.
Habitat Talus slopes, ridge crests, alpine or subalpine meadows, usually above timberline. Alpine tundra, heathlands, gravel bars, exposed ridges.
Elevation 2100–3400 m. (6900–11200 ft.) 10–1300 m. (0–4300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; ID; MT; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; BC; NT; YT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Variety cusickii is highly variable in flower size, especially where the large-flowered Oxytropis sericea var. speciosa occurs nearby. The existence of apparently transitional populations demonstrates the absence of consistent diagnostic features to separate what are, otherwise, rather distinctive taxa. The flowers seldom fade to a relatively bright yellowish on drying, as in O. sericea var. speciosa. It is not always possible to distinguish specimens of var. cusickii from var. spicata. Those materials traditionally passing as var. cusickii often occur in near proximity to var. spicata, which occurs at lower elevations on the same mountain ranges.

Oxytropis alpicola (Rydberg) M. E. Jones is an illegitimate name that pertains here.

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

Variety jordalii is transitional to vars. roaldii and varians. Data from J. L. Jorgensen et al. (2003) give some support to O. jordalii and O. varians as distinct species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Oxytropis > Oxytropis campestris Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Oxytropis > Oxytropis campestris
Sibling taxa
O. campestris var. chartacea, O. campestris var. columbiana, O. campestris var. davisii, O. campestris var. dispar, O. campestris var. johannensis, O. campestris var. jordalii, O. campestris var. minor, O. campestris var. roaldii, O. campestris var. spicata, O. campestris var. varians, O. campestris var. wanapum
O. campestris var. chartacea, O. campestris var. columbiana, O. campestris var. cusickii, O. campestris var. davisii, O. campestris var. dispar, O. campestris var. johannensis, O. campestris var. minor, O. campestris var. roaldii, O. campestris var. spicata, O. campestris var. varians, O. campestris var. wanapum
Synonyms O. cusickii, Aragallus alpicola, Astragalus alpicola, O. campestris var. rydbergii, O. paysoniana, O. rydbergii O. jordalii, O. campestris subsp. jordalii, O. leucantha subsp. jordalii
Name authority (Greenman) Barneby: Leafl. W. Bot. 6: 111. (1951) (A. E. Porsild) S. L. Welsh: Leafl. W. Bot. 10: 25. (1963)
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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