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

foliose locoweed, foliose nodding locoweed, foliose oxytrope, nodding locoweed

Photo is of parent taxon

blue nodding locoweed, blue pendent-pod oxytrope, nodding locoweed, pendent-pod crazyweed, pendent-pod locoweed, short-stem oxytrope, silky locoweed, silky nodding locoweed, silky oxytrope

Habit Plants appearing acaulescent, sometimes with 1(or 2) developed internodes; herbage sparsely pilose. Plants caulescent or appearing acaulescent; herbage usually conspicuously long-villous.
Racemes

densely (2–)4–10-flowered, hemispheric or subcapitate to shortly subcylindric, slightly elongate in fruit, with more flowers.

usually 10–25-flowered, subcylindric, usually much elongate in fruit.

Corollas

usually bright pink-purple or purple.

usually dirty white or variously suffused with purple.

2n

= 16.

Oxytropis deflexa var. foliolosa

Oxytropis deflexa var. sericea

Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering summer.
Habitat Tundra, conifer, aspen, birch, and alder communities, gravel bars, roadsides. Spruce-fir, aspen, willow, alder, and meadow communities.
Elevation 0–3700 m. (0–12100 ft.) 0–3200 m. (0–10500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; ID; MT; NV; UT; WY; AB; BC; NB; NL; NT; NU; ON; QC; YT
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CA; CO; ID; MT; ND; NM; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; NT; NU; ON; SK; YT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Though usually appearing acaulescent in alpine and shore situations, plants of var. foliolosa frequently have one or two evident internodes in lower elevation habitats along stream systems. Specimens intermediate between this and var. sericea are not uncommon. Assignment of all specimens to one or the other of the varieties is not always possible. The Pan-Arctic Flora (http://panarcticflora.org/) treats var. foliolosa as Oxytropis deflexa subsp. dezhnevii (Jurtzev) Jurtzev.

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

Variety sericea is the common phase of Oxytropis deflexa south of the Arctic. The variety is highly variable, especially in size and aspect of flowers. Flowers of some of the variants appear not to open, as if they were cleistogamous. The Pan-Arctic Flora (http://panarcticflora.org/) treats var. sericea as O. deflexa subsp. retrorsa.

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

Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Oxytropis > Oxytropis deflexa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Oxytropis > Oxytropis deflexa
Sibling taxa
O. deflexa var. pulcherrima, O. deflexa var. sericea
O. deflexa var. foliolosa, O. deflexa var. pulcherrima
Synonyms O. foliolosa, Aragallus foliolosus, Astragalus deflexus var. foliolosus, O. deflexa subsp. foliolosa O. deflexa subsp. retrorsa, O. deflexa var. culminis, O. retrorsa, O. retrorsa var. sericea
Name authority (Hooker) Barneby: Leafl. W. Bot. 6: 111. (1951) Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 342. (1838)
Web links