Astragalus moranii Barneby,, 1976

Castillón, Eduardo Estrada, Quintanilla, José Ángel Villarreal, Delgado-Salinas, Alfonso & Rebman, Jon P., 2023, The genus Astragalus (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae: Galegeae) in Mexico, Phytotaxa 586 (1), pp. 1921-1935 : 1921-1935

60. Astragalus moranii Barneby, Brittonia 28: 278. 1976

Type:— MEXICO, Baja California, gravelly flats in pinyon woodland, 1900 m, summit of Cerro Jamau , 7 km S of Portezuelo de Jamau, S end of Sierra Juarez , 20 April 1974, R. Moran 21231 (holotype: SD: 00000258 digital image!; isotype: RSA0003025 digital image!, SD: 00000258 digital image!, MEXU00284717 !, US00004220 digital image!, MO-121512 digital image!, ENCB003333 !, UC1445025 digital image!, NY NY00005813 !) .

Perennial; Stems up to 30 cm long, diffuse to decumbent or incurved-ascendant, pubescence subapressed, the trichomes up to 0.5 mm long. Stipules 1.5–4.5 mm long, semi-clasping, decurrent, not connate, triangular, sometimes with purple tones Leaves 4–10 cm long, leaflets 9–19, 4–18 mm long, elliptic to oblong, minute mucronate, rarely subtruncate, adaxially glabrate o subglabrate adjacent to midvein, pale green. Peduncles 4.4–12.8 cm long, ascendant, humistrate with age; the racemes 1.5–4 cm long, flowers 8–17. Flowers purple, blue-violet, turning blue when drying; the calyx 3.2–4.8 × 2.2–2.8 mm, strigose, the trichomes white and black mixed, the tube 2.5–3.6 mm long, campanulate, the teeth 0.8–1.3 mm long, subulate, widely separate by the sinus; the banner 8.5–9 × 6.5–7.2 mm, rhombic to ovate, obtuse, recurved; the wings 7.4–8.3 × 2.5 mm, the claw 2.7–3.3 mm long, the blade 5.2–5.7 mm long, oblong to obovate; the keel 7–8.2 × 2.5–2.6 mm, the claw 2.5–3.3 mm long, the blade 4.9–5.3 mm long, elliptic. Pod elevated (above the receptacle by an strigose gynophore, 3–4 mm long), ascendant, 1.6–2.6 × 1.2–2.2 cm, ovoid to elliptic, sub-simetric, inflated bladder-like, basally slightly narrow, distally ending in a contracted, triangular, incurved beak, the valves membranous, papery, pale-bronze to ochre, semi-translucid, softly reticulate, septum absent; ovules 20–24; seeds 2.8–3.3 mm long, mitten shaped, brown with purple tones, opaque.

Distribution:— Endemic to Mexico, restricted to the southern Sierra Juárez, Baja California (Cerro Taraizo, Cerro 1905, Cerro Saiz, El Rincon Canyon, 2.5 km NW Cerro Jamau) ( Fig. 18 ).

Habitat:— Volcanic, clayey, and gravel soils; open areas; chaparral, associated with Quercus , Pinus, Artemisia , Juniperus, Rhus, Rhamnus ; 1440–2000 m.

Comments:— The Sierra Juárez and surrounding areas host nine species of Astragalus ( A. circumdatus , A. coccineus , A. didymocarpus , A. filipes , A. moranii , A. orcuttianus , A. palmeri , A. proriferus and A. trichopodus var lonchus ). Of these, only four ( A. moranii , A. proriferus , A. palmeri , and A. trichopodus var. lonchus ) have inflated pods, bladder-like, with true stipitated pods or sometimes, the pods raised in a very small 0.4–0.5 mm long gynophore. Astragalus trichopodus var. lonchus possess a true or continuous stipe with the fruit, whereas A. moranii , A. palmeri and A. proriferus , the pod is elevated above the receptacle by a gynophore (articulated structure, not continuous with the pod, it breaks in the base of the fruit and separates from it when it matures). Astragalus proriferus and A. palmeri have shorter gynophore (0.4–0.7 mm long).

Specimens examined:—BAJA CALIFORNIA: 20 April 1974, S of Portezuelo de Jamau, summit of Cerro Jamau , S end of Sierra Juarez, R. V. Moran 21231 ( MEXU, NY) ; 2 May 1976, Volcanic mesa atop Cerro Taraizo ([unsure placement] = San Matías), R. Moran 22987 ( ENCB, MEXU, NY, US) ; 23 May 1976, Fairly common in open areas on gravelly flat on west side just below summit of Cerro Jamau , R. Moran 23268 ( NY, TEX-LL, US) ; 4 July 1976, Sierra Juárez , north fork of Cañada el Rincón, R. Moran 23598 ( NY) ; 24 May 1976, Sierra Juárez, upper tributary of Arroyo la Esperanza , 2½ km NW of Cerro Jamau, R. Moran 23275 ( NY) ; 23 May 1976, Sierra Juárez , on north slope of Cerro Saiz, R. V. Moran 23252 ( NY) .

Figures

FIGURE 18. Map showing the distribution of Astragalus mollissimus var. bigelovii, A. mollissimus var. earleri, A. mollissimus var. irolanus, A. moranii, and A. nothoxys in Mexico.