Herbs usually acaulescent, rarely subacaulescent, to 25 cm, pubescent throughout and eglandular or sparsely glandu­lar with pale, sunken obscure glands on leaflets and/or calyx tubes only. Stems short-erect, with decumbent laterals, decumbent stems 0–6 cm, overtopped by leaves, leaves clustered; pseudoscapes usually 1, unbranched, rarely 2, 0.5–9.5 cm; cataphylls 5–20 mm. Leaves palmately (3–)5-foliolate; stipules persistent, linear-lanceolate to elliptic, 4–19 × 2–6 mm, appressed-pubescent; petiole not obviously jointed basally, (20–)30–210 mm; petiolules 1–3 mm; leaflet blades elliptic to lanceolate, oblanceolate, or rhombic, 1–7.5 × 0.3–4 cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrate to sparsely pubescent. Peduncles 1–14 cm, shorter than subtending petiole, subappressed-pubescent. Inflorescences dis­jointing in age at peduncle base, ovate to oblong; rachis 0.5–6 cm, elongating slightly in fruit, nodes 3–15, 3 flowers per node, internodes crowded in flower, elongating to 25 mm in fruit; bracts mostly persistent or very tardily deciduous, linear to oblanceolate or rhombic, 3–11 × 1.5–4.5 mm, appressed-pubescent. Pedicels 1–5 mm. Flowers 11–18 mm; calyx weakly gibbous-campanulate in fruit, 9–15 mm abaxially, 6–14 mm adaxially, usually eglandular, very rarely glandular on tube, pubescent; tube 2.5–6 mm; lobes subulate or linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, abaxial 6–10 × 1.5–3(–4) mm, adaxial 4.5–9 × 1–1.5 mm; corolla lavender to purple, banner paler, sometimes also marginally white, elliptic to obovate, 11–18 × 4–7 mm with claw 2–5 mm, wings 11–16 × 2–3 mm with claw 3.5–6 mm, keel 6–12 × 2–3 mm with claw 2.5–7 mm; filaments 6–11 mm; anthers round to elliptic, 0.3–0.5 mm; ovary glabrous or pubescent apically, style pubescent basally. Legumes ellipsoid-lanceoloid to oblong, 5–6.5 × 3–5 mm, eglandular, glabrous or slightly pubescent, beak 7–19 mm, exserted beyond calyx. Seed red-brown or gray, globose-reniform, 4–5 × 2.5–3.5 mm, smooth to somewhat rugose. 2n = 22.

Distribution

w, c United States.

Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

J. W. Grimes (1990) recognized three varieties under Pediomelum hypogaeum. Many specimens exist with intermediate traits that obscure strong delineations between taxa.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Pediomelum hypogaeum var. hypogaeum, Pediomelum hypogaeum var. scaposum, Pediomelum hypogaeum var. subulatum

Key

1	Peduncles 1–3.5 cm, less than 1/2 as long as sub­tending petiole.	Pediomelum hypogaeum var. hypogaeum
1	Peduncles (1.7–)4–14 cm, more than 1/2 as long as subtending petiole.	> 2
2	Peduncles appressed-pubescent; leaflet blades lanceolate to elliptic.	Pediomelum hypogaeum var. scaposum
2	Peduncles hirsute-villous; leaflet blades oblan­ceolate to rhombic.	Pediomelum hypogaeum var. subulatum