PEA FAMILY 599 



103. Astragalus salinus Howell. Salt Locoweed. Fig. 2877. 



Astragalus salinus Howell, Erythea 1: 111. 1893. 



Cystium salinum Rydb. N. Amer. Fl. 24: 411. 1929. 



Astragalus lentiginosus var. chartaceus M. E. Jones, Proc. Calif. Acad. II. 5: 673. 1895. 



Perennial, the stems decumbent or ascending, 10-20 cm. long, rather slender, very sparsely 

 strigose. Leaflets 9-17, obovate, obtuse or retuse, 8-12 mm. long; racemes subcapitate; calyx- 

 tube 3 mm. long ; teeth about 2 mm. long ; corolla ochroleucous, 8-9 mm. long ; pod well inflated, 

 broadly ovoid, about 15 mm. long, with a short curved beak, thin-chartaceous and glabrous. 



Saline soils, Upper Sonoran Zone; southeastern Oregon and central and southern Idaho. Type locality: 

 Harney County, Oregon. June-Aug. 



104. Astragalus lentiginosus Dougl. Mottled Rattleweed. Fig. 2878. 



Astragalus lentiginosus Dougl. ex Hook. Fl. Bor. Amer. 1: 151. 1834. 

 Cystium lentiginosum Rydb. N. Amer. Fl. 24: 412. 1929. 



Perennial from a deep taproot, the stems branching from the base, decumbent, 1 . 5-3 dm. 

 long, glabrous or sparsely pubescent with upwardly appressed hairs. Leaflets 11-19, narrowly 

 to broadly obovate, 5-10 mm. long, glabrous or sparsely strigose ; flowers in subcapitate racemes ; 

 calyx-tube campanulate, 3-4 mm. long, sparsely hairy, the teeth subulate, 2 mm. long ; corolla 

 ochroleucous, 8-9 mm. long; pod ovoid, more or less strongly incurved, 15-20 mm. long, abruptly 

 tapering to a stout upcurved beak, usually mottled, rather thinly strigose. 



Arid plains, Upper Sonoran and Arid Transition Zones; southeastern Washington to northeastern California 

 and east to Idaho and Utah. Type locality: "Subalpine ranges of the Blue Mountains of North- West America." 

 May-July. 



105. Astragalus ineptus A. Gray. Sierra Locoweed. Fig. 2879. 



Astragalus ineptus A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. 6: 525. 1865. 



Cystium ineptum Rydb. Bull. Torrey Club 32: 659. 1905. 



Astragalus lentiginosus var. ineptus M. E. Jones, Rev. N. Amer. Astrag. 124. 1923. 



Astragalus lentiginosus var. sierrae M. E. Jones, loc. cit. 



Astragalus kernensis Jepson, Man. Fl. PI. Calif. 569. 1925. 



Cespitose perennial, branched from the woody caudex, the stems decumbent, 1-3 dm. long, 

 sparsely strigose. Leaves 3-6 cm. long; leaflets linear-oblong to narrowly elliptic, 6-10 mm. 

 long, sparsely strigose and somewhat canescent ; peduncles slender, shorter than the leaves ; 

 racemes short, usually not more than 2 cm. long ; calyx-tube cylindric, 4 mm. long, loosely short- 

 pubescent, the teeth subulate, about 2 mm. long ; pod ovoid, abruptly short-beaked, the body about 

 12-16 mm. long, 7-8 mm. wide and thick, papery, strigose and mottled. 



Gravelly mountain slopes, Arid Transition Zone; northern Sierra Nevada to the San Bernardino Mountains, 

 California. Type locality: rocky mountain slopes at 9,000 feet altitude near Sonora Pass, California. July-Aug. 



106. Astragalus idriensis (M. E. Jones) Abrams. Idria Locoweed. Fig. 2880. 



Astragalus lentiginosus var. idriensis M. E. Jones, Contr. West. Bot. No. 10: 63. 1902. 

 Cystium idriense Rydb. N. Amer. Fl. 24: 414. 1929. 



Perennial, with a cespitose woody caudex, the stems several, decumbent, 2 dm. long, sparsely 



strigose. Leaves 2-4 cm. long; leaflets 13-19, obovate, 5-8 mm. long, obtuse or rounded at apex, 



strigose beneath, glabrous above ; peduncles 3-5 cm. long ; raceme 2 cm. long, densely flowered ; 



calyx sparsely strigose, the tube 4 mm. long, the teeth subulate, 1 mm. long; corolla 10-12 mm. 



long, purple or the banner with a white spot; pod narrowly ovoid, 15-20 mm. long, 4-5 mm. 



wide, 7 mm. thick, strongly curved, acute on the upper suture, strigose and mottled. 



Rocky ridges, Upper Sonoran Zone; Inner Coast Ranges, San Benito County, to the Mount Pinos region, 

 California. Type locality: near New Idria, California. April-May. 



107. Astragalus malacus A. Gray. Soft Rattle-weed. Fig. 2881. 



Astragalus malacus A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. 7: 336. 1868. 

 Hamosa malaca Rydb. Fl. Rocky Mts. 496, 1063. 1917. 



Perennial, cespitose, the stems ascending, usually less than 2 dm. long, whole plant villous 

 with spreading hairs. Leaves 5-8 cm. long; leaflets 11-17, obovate to elliptic-obovate, 6-12 mm. 

 long ; peduncles stout, 4-6 cm. long ; racemes many-flowered, 3-4 cm. long ; calyx-tube cylindric- 

 campanulate, 6-7 mm. long, white-villous with black hairs interspersed; teeth subulate, 3 mm. 

 long; corolla purple, 15 mm. long; pod 2-3 cm. long, 5-6 mm. wide, strongly flattened laterally, 

 somewhat curved, densely villous. 



Gravelly soils, Upper Sonoran Zone; Blue Mountains, Oregon, and adjacent Idaho south, east of the Cascade 

 Mountains and Sierra Nevada, to western Nevada, and the Mojave Desert, California. Type locality: near Carson 

 City, Nevada. April. 



Astragalus Minthorniae (Rydb.) Jepson, Fl. Calif. 2: 374. 1936. {Hamosa Minthomiae Rydb. Bull. 

 Torrey Club 54: 15. 1927.) Stems erect or ascending from a stout root crown, 10-30 cm. high or sometimes 

 shorter and tufted, strigose or short-villous with ascending hairs. Leaves 5—10 cm. long, erect; leaflets 11-19, 

 obovate, 8-15 mm. long, silky-canescent; racemes 6-10 cm. long, well surpassing the leaves; calyx black-hairy, 

 the tube 5-6 mm. long; corolla white except the purple-tipped keel, banner 12-15 mm. long; pod erect or ascend- 

 ing, straight or nearly so, shaggy-pilose, 2-2.5 cm. long, 4 mm. thick and wide, abruptly acute at apex. South- 

 western Nevada and the New York Mountains, San Bernardino County, California. Doubtfully distinct from 

 Astragalus malacus A. Gray. Best distinguished by the smaller flowers and more open racemes. 



