Plants mat- or cushion-forming, suffruticose, 5–30+ cm, villous-hirtellous, hairs basifixed; radi­ating from branched caudex. Stems: older ones to 30 cm underground, densely villous-hirtellous, hairs silvery. Leaves 0.4–1(–2) cm; stipules 1–3 mm, herbaceous becoming papery; leaflets subpalmate, crowded, (3 or)5–9, blades oblong-elliptic to obovate, 1–3.5(–6) mm, apex obtuse, surfaces pubescent. Peduncles 0.3–1 cm. Racemes 1–3(–5)-flowered, flowers spreading; axis 0.5 cm in fruit; bracts 1–2 mm; bracteoles 0. Pedicels to 1 mm. Flowers 5.5–6.5 mm; calyx obconic-campanulate, 2.5–3.5 mm, hirsutulous, tube 1.5–2.5 mm, lobes subulate, 1–1.3 mm; corolla greenish white, with pale purple veins or tips; banner recurved through 45°; keel 4–4.5 mm. Legumes spreading, stramineous, straight or curved (apically), obliquely ovoid, obcompressed, flattened abaxially, 4–5 × 2.5–3 mm, papery, hirsutulous. Seeds 4.

Phenology: Flowering Jul–Aug.
Habitat: Gypseous or limey sandstone in pinyon-juniper woodland or Great Basin desert scrub, sometimes partly submerged in drifting sand.
Elevation: 2000–2300 m.

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Loading map...

N.Mex.

Discussion

As noted by D. Isely (1998), the miniature Astragalus micromerius, with subpalmate leaves, so resembles a starved Syrmatium-Lotus that it was first described as Hosackia nana S. Watson; the epithet is blocked in Astragalus by A. nanus de Candolle. It is restricted to northwestern New Mexico.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.