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 Leaves Desert Botanical Gardens Herbarium Collection, Usage rights: Attribution-Non-Commercial(CC BY-NC) |  Plant Desert Botanical Gardens Herbarium Collection, Usage rights: Attribution-Non-Commercial(CC BY-NC) | | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Perennial
General Desc:
Herbaceous legume having an upright growth pattern, a taproot and a shallowly buried woody base. Many primary stems, most growing vertically but some trail on the ground. Potential use for rangeland restoration due to its nitrogen-fixing ability.
Identification notes: Stems nearly erect, internodes less than twice as long as the leaves; leaves pinnate, leaflets 3 to 6, 1/8 inch wide; sepals hairy and shorter than the floral tube, petals 1/3 inch long and yellow or orange, flower stems longer than the palmate leaves.
Height:
4 to 12 inches
Habitat Description: Open habitats, pinyon-juniper woodlands, ponderosa pine and spruce-fir forests, sandy to stony soils.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest
Elevation: 3500 - 9000 feet
Color:
Yellow
Shape:
Irregular in round clusters
Tubular:
Y
Flowering Period:
Jun - Sep
Description:
Yellow flowers, tinged orange, 1/2 to 3/4 inch long; single or paired, rarely in threes; the outermost leaf-like sepals (calyx) are reddish or green with sharp, flat hairs; upper largest petal of the flower (banner) curves distinctly backwards.
Leaf Color:
Green to gray
Leaf Type:
Compound
Leaf Shape:
Palmate
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Stems are gray or green and sparsely covered with short, flat, stiff hairs; stalkless leaves are widely spaced on the stem each having 3 to 6 narrow leaflets to 1-1/4 inches long and 1/8 inch wide.
Fruit Color: Greenish-gray
Fruit Type: Pod
Fruit Notes: Narrow, oblong pod 3/4 to 1 inch long and 1/16 inch wide having many stiff, sharp, flat hairs to being nearly smooth. When pods reach maturity in mid-July, they split open lengthwise releasing several seeds.
Seed Notes: Seeds measure less than 1/16 inch and can be speckled black or brown, dark brown, tan or green in color.
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