Herbs caulescent, to 175 cm, glandular and sparsely strigose or glabrate. Stems erect, sev­eral branched distally, leaves dispersed along stems; pseudo­scapes 0; cataphylls often deciduous, sometime per­sistent, 5–12 mm. Leaves palmately 3(or 4)-foliolate, or unifoliolate when subtending inflorescences; stipules tardily deciduous or persistent, linear-lanceolate to elliptic or rhombic, 3–10(–12) × 0.5–1.5 mm, glabrous or sparsely strigose; petiole not swollen or jointed basally, terete to slightly canaliculate, 3–11 mm; petiolules 0.5–3 mm; leaflet blades linear or narrowly to broadly elliptic, 2–6 × 0.3–0.6 cm, base attenuate, apex acuminate to apiculate, surfaces black-glandular, abaxially pubescent, adaxially glabrous. Peduncles 0.8–10.5 cm, much lon­ger than subtending petiole, appressed-pubescent. Inflorescences persistent, elongate, lax; rachis 1.2–9.5 cm, nodes 3–7, (1–)3 flowers per node, internodes to 22 mm; bracts persistent, lanceolate to orbiculate, 1.5–3.5 × 1–1.5 mm, apex often apiculate, glandular and glabrous or abaxially pubescent. Pedicels 3.5–10 mm. Flowers 8–11 mm; calyx slightly enlarging in fruit becoming broadly and shallowly campanulate but not gibbous, 4.5–6 mm abaxially, 4–5.5 mm adaxially, glandular, appressed-pubescent, sometimes sparsely so; tube 2.5–4 mm; lobes triangular, abaxial 2–4 × 1.5–2.5 mm, adaxial 1.5–3.5 × 1–2 mm; corolla usually blue-violet to violet-purple, sometimes white, banner usually lighter in throat, oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 8–11.5 × 5–7 mm with claw 2–2.5 mm, wings 8–11.5 × 2–3 mm with claw 2–4 mm, keel 6–7 × 2–2.5 mm with claw 3–3.5 mm; filaments 6–6.5 mm; anthers elliptic, 0.5 mm; ovary glabrous, sometimes minutely pubescent apically, style glabrous or minutely pubescent basally. Legumes broadly ellipsoid to globose, 8–10.5 × 8.5–10.5 mm, glandular, glabrous, beak 3–3.5 mm, exserted beyond calyx. Seed olive green to light brown, globose-reniform, 4–6 × 3–4 mm.

Phenology: Flowering summer.
Habitat: Grasslands, shrub and open woodland communities.
Elevation: 100–1500 m.

Distribution

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Ark., Colo., Kans., Nebr., N.Mex., Okla., S.Dak., Tex.

Discussion

Pediomelum linearifolium is easily distinguished from its congeners by the tall, gangly habit (more than 1 m) and lax inflorescences that nod (as opposed to tight heads in P. reverchonii, another species that achieves a tall habit), and by being glandular throughout (as opposed to P. digitatum, which has eglandular calyces).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.