Plants annual or winter-annual, usually slender, (2.5–)4–30 cm, sparsely strigulose or glabrate, hairs basifixed; taproot slender. Stems erect, incurved-ascending, or decumbent, sparsely strig­ulose or glabrate. Leaves (1.5–)2–5(–6) cm; stipules (1–)1.2–4 mm, submembranous becom­ing papery; leaflets (5 or)7–11(or 13), blades broadly obovate, obovate-cuneate to oblanceolate, or suborbiculate-obcordate, 2–12 mm, apex emarginate or retuse, surfaces strigulose abaxially, glabrous adaxially. Peduncles erect, (1.5–)2–7 cm. Racemes 2–10-flowered, flowers spread­ing; axis 0.1–0.4(–0.5) cm in fruit, not elongating; bracts 0.5–0.8 mm; bracteoles 0–2. Pedicels 0.3–1.3 mm. Flowers 7.2–12 mm; calyx 2.5–5 mm, strigulose, tube (1.8–)2.7–3.4 mm, lobes subulate, 0.6–1.7 mm; corolla pink-purple, wing tips pale or banner and keel tips maculate; banner recurved through 40°; keel 3.8–8.1 mm, apex broadly rounded or deltate, often obscurely beaklike. Legumes ascending, green or purple-tinged becoming brownish stramineous, gently incurved or straight, very narrowly linear, terete to obscurely 3-sided compressed, falling before splitting, dehiscent on ground, (15–)18–50(–57) × 1.7–2.7(–3.1) mm, thinly fleshy becoming papery, base cuneate or cuneate-tapered, then sometimes pseudostipitate, stri­gulose; bearing seeds near middle. Seeds 8–20.

Distribution

California.

Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Astragalus rattanii is distinguished from other north­ern California annuals of sect. Leptocarpi by its long, capitate-clustered, acicular-tipped fruits that taper at both ends (D. Isely 1998).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Astragalus rattanii var. jepsonianus, Astragalus rattanii var. rattanii

Key

1	Calyx tubes 2.7–3.4 mm, lobes 0.9–1.7 mm; banners (9.2–)10–12 mm; legumes (21–)25–50(–57) mm; seeds (11–)14–20.	Astragalus rattanii var. rattanii
1	Calyx tubes 1.8–2.4 mm, lobes 0.6–1.2 mm; banners 7.2–9.6 mm; legumes (15–)18–30 mm; seeds 8–12.	Astragalus rattanii var. jepsonianus