Astragalus esperanzae M. E. Jones,

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

24. Astragalus esperanzae M. E. Jones, Rev. N.-Amer. Astragalus 277. 1923

Type:— MEXICO, Puebla, Esperanza, August 1908, C. A. Purpus 3207 (holotype: RSA0002942 digital image!; paratype: RSA0002999941 digital image!).

Hamosa esperanzea (M. E. Jones) Rydb., Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 54(4): 335. 1927.

Astragalus chapalanus M. E. Jones, Rev. N. -Amer. Astragalus 277. 1923.— Astragalus chapalensis M. E. Jones ex Rydb., Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 54(4): 335, in syn. 1927.

Hamosa asperula Rydb., Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 54(4): 335–336. 1927.

Perennial. Stems up to 30 cm long, prostrate, branched from base, with few o many branches, minute strigose, trichomes up to 0.5 mm long, straight, appressed to ascendant. Stipules 2–6.3 mm long, connate (the lowest ones) and clasping (the upper ones), the lowest ones with a complete sheath around stem, the upper ones, attached basally only or attached to the middle of it, forming a sheath, acute apically, both straight. Leaves 2–12 cm long; leaflets 9–25, 3–18 mm long, linear, linear-oblong, oblong to oblanceolate, apically truncate or retuse, glabrate or minute strigose abaxially. Peduncles 1.5–14 cm long, curved and ascendant; the racemes 1–3 cm long, flowers 10–25, ascendant when young, turning deflexed with age. Flowers purple, cream or white but the banner with purple tones; the calyx 4.3–6.2 × 2.2–3.3 mm, minute strigose, trichomes black, sometimes mixed with white ones, the tube campanulate, 2.4–3.5 mm long, the teeth 1.5–3.2 mm long, subulate; the banner 7.2–9.2 × 2–2.4 mm, recurved, ovate to obovate, retuse; the wings 7.5–9.6 × 2–2.4 mm, the claw 2.5–3.6 mm long, the blade 5.7–7.3 mm long, oblong to oblanceolate; the keel 5.6–7.7 × 2.1–2.7 mm, the claw 2.6–3.5 mm, the blade 3.3–4.8 mm long, obovate. Pod 1.1–1.8 × 0.3–0.4 cm, sessile, lanceolate to ovate, triquetrous, compressed, ventrally carinate to short-winged, laterally rounded, dorsally deeply and with narrow grooves, basally rounded, distally ending in a short, subulate, curved beak, the valves light green to brown, glabrate to slightly strigose, trichomes white and black, papery, stiff, turning ochre or black with age, persistent attached for a time; septum complete, the pod thence bilocular; ovules 14–19; seeds 1.7–2.1 mm long, mitten shape, brown, sometimes with purple tones.

Distribution:— Endemic to Mexico. From Durango (Parque Tecuán), through Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, central Jalisco, central Michoacán, south-central Hidalgo to central and western Puebla ( Fig. 7 ).

Habitat:— Acidic, reddish, clayey soils; dry slopes; meadows; disturbed areas; associations of acacia,maguey, oak, navajita grassland; grasslands-mesquite; arid scrublands; pine forest; 2000–2927 m.

Comments:— Two particular features of this species are characteristic, the connate stipules and the persistent fruit, a combination not found in any other species in Mexico.

Specimens examined:—DURANGO: 4 June 1997, Parque El Tecuán, S. González 5869, M. Pinedo ( CIIDIR) ; 10 July 1982, 32 kms. al W de El Salto , R. Hernández M. 7820, Y. V. de Hernández, R. Hernández V., U. Hernández ( MEXU) ; HIDALGO: 16 July 1898, Hidalgo , Hills above Pachuca, C. G. Pringle 7644 ( CAS, US) ; 22-VII1903, Near Tulancingo , State of Hidalgo, J. N. Rose 8828, J. H. Painter, J. S. Rose ( US) ; 29 August 1965, Rzedowski 20598 ( ENCB) . JALISCO: 29 August 1958, Southeastern slopes of Cerro Gordo , above San Ignacio, ca. 12 miles southeast of Tepatitlán, R. McVaugh 17527 ( MEXU) . MICHOACÁN: 5 August 1898, Hidalgo , Sierra de Pachuca, C. G. Pringle 6955 ( CAS, CIIDIR, ENCB, SD, TEX-LL) . PUEBLA: VIII-1908, Esperanza , Puebla, C. A. Purpus 3207 ( JEPS) . SAN LUÍS POTOSÍ. 14 July 1963, 26 miles east of San Luis Potosi. Along highway 86 to Rio Verde, R. L. McGregor 698, L. J. Harms, A. J. Robinson, R. del Rosario, R. Segal ( NY) ; 13–23-VII-1904, San Luis Potosí , Alvarez, E. Palmer 203 ( NY, US) ; 10 July 1965, 6 km SW of Rio Frio on old highway 190 at km 56, K. Roe, 137, E. Roe, S. Mori ( NY) ; 13 September 1961, Zaragoza , Puerto de la Huerta, A. Gómez 330 ( ENCB, NY) ; 11 April 1963, Rancho El Milagro km 37 Carretera SL.P. Rio Verde, A. Gómez 846 ( NY) ; 1 August 1934, Potosi and Rio Verde, Sierra de Alvarez. Km 37 (western slope), F. W. Pennell 17764 ( NY, US) ; 30 July 1934, San Luis Potosi-Mexico , rocky limestone, km. 42 (eastern slope), F. W. Pennell 17792 ( US ¿-¿-1966, Potrero del Tanque , Cerrito de Dolores, Mpio. Villa de Arriaga, A. Gómez G. 971 ( ENCB) ; 23 July 1959, Sierra de Álvarez , cerca del Puerto de la Huerta, Mpio. De Zaragoza, Rzedowski 11277 ( ENCB) ; 13 September 1961, Paso de la Huerta, carretera San Luis Potosí-Río Verde, A. Gómez 379 ( ENCB) . ZACATECAS: 1897, [ Plateado ], J. N. Rose 2757 ( NY.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Map showing the distribution of Astragalus ervoides var. ervoides, A. ervoides var. maysilesii, A. esperanzae, A. fastidius, and A. filipes in Mexico.