Astragalus ceramicus var. apus Barneby

  • Authors

    Rupert C. Barneby

  • Authority

    Barneby, Rupert C. 1964. Atlas of North American Astragalus. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 13(1): 1-596.

  • Family

    Fabaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Astragalus ceramicus var. apus Barneby

  • Type

    Idaho: Idaho Falls, Bonneville County, in 1893, Edward Palmer 348.—Holotypus, WIS! isotypus, US!

  • Description

    Latin Diagnosis - leguminibus stipite obsoleto arete sessilibus ab aliis omnibus speciei formis insuper procul allopatricis diversa—Omnia caetera var. filifolii (Gray) F. J. Hermann.

    Variety Description - Wholly similar to var. filifolius except for the sessile pod; lateral leaflets wanting or nearly so; pod 2—4 cm. long, ± 1.5—2.4 cm. in diameter.

    Distribution and Ecology - Dunes and sandy flats, ± 4400-4800 feet, apparently not uncommon about the east end of the Snake River Plains, from near the sinks of the Lost Rivers in Butte County, east to western Madison and northwestern Bonneville Counties, Idaho.—Map No. 33.—May to July.

  • Discussion

    In its basifixed pubescence, almost complete lack of lateral leaflets, flowers of moderate size, and in number of ovules, the painted milk-vetch of the Snake River Plains closely matches some forms of A. ceramicus var. filifolius from east of the Rocky Mountains, but it apparently differs consistently in the sessile pod. The known range of var. apus extends over an area about sixty miles in diameter and lies distant two hundred miles west from the last outpost of var. filifolius on the upper Platte and Big Horn Rivers in Wyoming. The variety was first collected near Fort Hall, in 1845 or 1846, by Joseph Burke (K).

  • Objects

    Specimen - 801216, C. L. Hitchcock 15762, Astragalus ceramicus var. apus Barneby, Fabaceae (152.0), Magnoliophyta; North America, United States of America, Idaho, Jefferson Co.

  • Distribution

    Idaho United States of America North America|