Astragalus palmeri

Plant: Annual or perennial herb, low, open and widely branched, sparsely to densely silvery-strigose; stem decumbent, 2-5 dm Leaves: generally compound, alternate, stipuled, 2-16 cm, odd-1-pinnate; leaflets 9-21, 5-25 mm, widely ± elliptic INFLORESCENCE: raceme, axillary; flowers generally 20-40, early dense, then ± well separated, spreading or widely ascending Flowers: bilateral; calyx 5-lobed; petals generally pink-purple, sometimes cream with purple veins and petal tips, banner 7-10.3 mm, recurved 90 degrees, keel 6.2-8.8 mm; 9 filaments fused, 1 free; ovary (and fruit) generally sessile, style slender, stigma minute Fruit: legume, 10-25 mm, 5-14 mm wide, moderately to very swollen (then ± bladdery), ± ovoid or half-ellipsoid, papery but not especially thin and translucent, thinly to densely strigose; beak ± erect, 1/5-1/3 X body, triangular; chamber 1; Seeds 2-many, smooth, compressed, ± notched at attachment scar Misc: Sandy or rocky places; 150-1650 m.; Dec-Jun