Astragalus lentiginosus var. chartaceus
Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 2, 5: 673. 1895.
Plants perennial, 10–35 cm. Stems diffuse and incurved-ascending, often red-tinged. Leaves (2.5–)4–11 cm; leaflets (9 or)11–23, blades elliptic-oblanceolate, broadly oblong-oblanceolate, or obovate, (3–)5–17(–20) mm, apex obtuse or emarginate. Peduncles (1–)2.5–6(–7.5) cm. Racemes (5–)10–20-flowered, flowering from middle and distally, short and compact in fruit; axis (0.5–)1.5–4(–5.5) cm in fruit. Flowers (12.5–)15–18.2 mm; calyx (6.2–)7.5–10.5 mm, tube (4.6–)5.2–6.7 mm, lobes 1.4–3.8 mm; corolla bright pink-purple with pale, striate eye. Legumes green, often red-mottled, becoming stramineous, usually strongly incurved, ovoid, lanceoloid-ovoid, or ovoid-acuminate, moderately inflated, 15–30(–40) × (7–)9–15 mm, bilocular, stiffly papery or almost leathery, usually glabrous, rarely puberulent; beak well-defined, triangular or deltoid, 6–15 mm, unilocular. Seeds 24–34(–38).
Phenology: Flowering May–Jul.
Habitat: Sagebrush, pinyon-juniper, and mixed desert shrub communities, on alluvial silt, igneous gravel.
Elevation: 1400–2200 m.
Discussion
Variety chartaceus is widespread from central to western Utah into northeastern and central Nevada, there intergrading with vars. fremontii, kennedyi, and toyabensis. S. L. Welsh (2007) discussed the problems of including this variety in an expanded var. diphysus and its complex relationships to other varieties.
Selected References
None.