Plants coarse, forming small, bushy clumps, 15–50(–60) cm, strigulose to pilose; from super­ficial caudex. Stems erect to ascending, strigulose to pilose. Leaves 5–14(–16.5) cm; stip­ules 4–12 mm, thinly herba­ceous becoming papery; leaflets (3–)9–17(or 19), blades obovate-cuneate, broadly oblong-obovate, or oblong-elliptic to suborbiculate-obcordate, (5–)7–30(–35) mm, apex retuse or emarginate, surfaces glabrous or, sometimes, sparsely pubescent adaxially. Peduncles erect becoming weakly ascending, (5–)7–17 cm. Racemes 10–25-flowered, flowers ascending; axis (2–)3–10 cm in fruit; bracts 1.5–4 mm; bracteoles 0–2. Pedicels 1.2–4.5 mm. Flowers 21–28 mm; calyx purple, (7.6–)8–12.3 mm, strigulose to pilosulous, tube (6.3–)6.7–9.7 mm, lobes subulate, (1.3–)1.8–2.7 mm; corolla usually magenta-purple, reddish purple, or pink-purple, rarely white; banner recurved through 40°; keel 17.4–21 mm, apex round. Legumes ascending to spreading, light green, sometimes suffused with red, becoming stramineous, straight, oblong-, ovoid-, or broadly ellipsoid, inflated, hardly bladdery, 20–30 × 10–14 mm, papery, strigulose; unilocular; stipe 1–1.5 mm. Seeds 24–38. 2n = 24.

Phenology: Flowering Jan–Apr.
Habitat: With creosote bush in Colorado Desert.
Elevation: 60–300 m.

Distribution

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Ariz., Calif., Mexico (Baja Cali­fornia).

Discussion

Astragalus crotalariae is a close relative of A. preussii and occurs around the Salton Sea in California east­ward to the Yuma Desert in southwestern Arizona and northern Baja California.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.