Astragalus eremiticus var. eremiticus
Racemes lax, axis 5–10(–15) cm in fruit. Pedicels medially attached to calyx, ascending. Calyces basally symmetric.
Phenology: Flowering Apr–Jul.
Habitat: Creosote bush, blackbrush, Ephedra, juniper-pinyon, live oak, and sagebrush communities.
Elevation: (600–)900–1900(–2000) m.
Distribution
Ariz., Nev., N.Mex. Utah.
Discussion
Most plants of var. eremiticus from northern Arizona, and from eastern Kane County and some from Washington County, Utah, have blue, purple, or pink petals, or petals suffused with those colors. They seem not to differ otherwise from the typically pale yellowish-(ochroleucous) or whitish-flowered specimens that form the bulk of the variety away from those areas. Legumes vary from thin and almost papery to thick and leathery-woody, and from oblong to linear-oblong, and not at all or not much inflated to definitely though slightly inflated. Legume variation appears to be haphazard in the vicinity of the Pine Valley Mountains in Washington County, Utah.
Selected References
None.