Herbs mostly acaulescent, 4–25 cm, glandular (with obvious blond to dark brown glands) and pubescent. Stems erect to decumbent, short and hidden by stip­ules, sometimes with decumbent lateral stems with dense cluster of leaves and inflorescences distally, unbranched, leaves clustered; pseudoscapes to 0.5 cm; cataphylls to 15 mm, conspicuously veined. Leaves palmately 5(–8)-foliolate; stipules persistent, lanceolate to elliptic, 5–14 × 2.5–5 mm, pubescent; petiole jointed to leaf spur, 4–13(–15) mm, glabrate to sparsely pubes­cent; petiolule 0.5–2 mm; leaflet blades broadly ovate, orbiculate, oblanceolate, or ± rhombic, 1–4 × 0.6–4 cm, base cuneate or attenuate, apex rounded to broadly acute, surfaces gray-green to yellow-green, sometimes bicolor, glandular, appressed-pubescent. Peduncles 2.5–7.5(–10) cm, shorter than subtending petiole, pubescent, with relatively long, erect to reflexed hairs or with hairs of 2 types: short, appressed to incurved-ascending hairs and long, spreading-erect to reflexed, straight to curly hairs. Inflorescences disjointing in age at peduncle base, subglobose to elongate; rachis 0.5–7 cm, elongating in fruit, nodes 2–10, (1–)3(or 4) flowers per node, internodes relatively short or to 9 mm; bracts tardily deciduous, oblanceolate, lanceolate, or elliptic, (6–)8–13(–18) × 2.5–10 mm, eglandular to sparsely glandular, strigose abaxially. Pedicels 1.5–6(–8) mm. Flowers (13–)15–20(–22) mm; calyx gibbous-campanulate in fruit, (14–)16–19 mm abaxially, (13–)15–17 mm adaxially, eglandular or minutely glandular, setose or with appressed hairs; tube 6–8(–10) mm; lobes lanceolate to oblanceolate or elliptic, abaxial 7–10 × 2.5–3 mm, adaxial 6–8 × 1–2 mm; corolla whitish blue to purple, banner lighter than or similar to wings and keel, obovate-lanceolate, 16–22 × 6–9 mm with claw 6–7 mm, wings 13–20 × 2–3 mm with claw 8–10 mm, keel 14–16 × 2–3 mm with claw 8–9 mm, blade with darker blotch distal to middle; filaments 13–17 mm; anthers elliptic, 0.3 mm; ovary pubescent throughout or on distal 1/2, style pubescent at base. Legumes oval-ellipsoid, 6–9 × 4–5 mm, eglandular, erect- to appressed-pubescent distally, beak attenuate, (3–)5–8 mm, included within calyx. Seed brown, reniform-elliptic, 4–5 × 3–4 mm, shiny.

Phenology: Flowering spring–late summer.
Habitat: Decaying sandstone and clay soils on rock outcrops, desert shrub and pinyon-juniper communities.
Elevation: 500–2000 m.

Distribution

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Ariz., Colo., Nev., N.Mex., Utah.

Discussion

Pediomelum megalanthum and its varieties have variably been recognized at specific or varietal levels. J. W. Grimes (1990) and D. Isely (1998) included P. epipsilum as a variety under P. megalanthum along with var. retrorsum and var. megalanthum, while others have recognized these at the specific level (S. L. Welsh et al. 1993), based largely on the directionality and type of peduncle vestiture. A recent morphometric analysis showed no clear break between vars. megalanthum and retrorsum (A. N. Egan 2015). Intrapopulational variation in peduncle vestiture and hair type has also been observed (Max Licher and John Anderson, pers. comm.). Therefore, these are here recognized as a single species.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.