Herbs perennial, caulescent, sparsely leafy, often junceous or ephedroid; root-crown or caudex subterranean. Hairs basifixed. Stems single or few to several. Stipules distinct or connate (±) proximally. Leaves odd-pinnate, sessile or subsessile to petiolate; leaflets (0–)3–21, or lateral leaflets fewer and terminal leaflet continuous with rachis. Racemes loosely flowered, flowers ascending, spreading, declined, or nodding. Calyx tubes usually campanulate, rarely cylindric. Corollas whitish, ochroleucous, yellow, or pink-purple to dull lavender or purple, petals often strongly recurved, banner recurved through 30–130°, keel apex obtuse, acute, or triangular, sometimes beaklike. Legumes persistent or eventually deciduous, continuous with receptacle, sessile, subsessile, or stipitate, usually declined or pendulous, rarely spreading, ascending, or erect, linear-oblong to linear-oblanceoloid, ellipsoid, ovoid-ellipsoid and bladdery, compressed laterally or dorsiventrally, or 3-sided or 4-sided, usually unilocular, rarely semibilocular. Seeds 8–42.

Distribution

w United States.

Discussion

Species 17 (17 in the flora).

Section Lonchocarpi consists of five subsections distributed in the Colorado Basin, south­eastern Great Basin, and eastward and southeastward to Colorado and New Mexico.

The subsections are: subsect. Pseudogenistoidei Barneby (Astragalus titanophilus, A. xiphoides); subsect. Pseudostrigulosi Barneby (A. cronquistii); subsect. Aequales Barneby (A. pinonis, A. atwoodii, A. aequalis); subsect. Lancearii Barneby (A. episcopus, A. lancearius, A. duchesnensis, A. nidularius, A. harrisonii); and subsect. Lonchocarpi (A. Gray) Barneby (A. coltonii, A. ripleyi, A. schmolliae, A. tortipes, A. lonchocarpus, A. hamiltonii).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Astragalus aequalis, Astragalus atwoodii, Astragalus coltonii, Astragalus cronquistii, Astragalus duchesnensis, Astragalus episcopus, Astragalus hamiltonii, Astragalus harrisonii, Astragalus lancearius, Astragalus lonchocarpus, Astragalus nidularius, Astragalus pinonis, Astragalus ripleyi, Astragalus schmolliae, Astragalus titanophilus, Astragalus tortipes, Astragalus xiphoides