Inyo Locoweed

Tium inyoense (Sheldon) Rydberg
Astragalus inyocnsis Sheldon, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 4: 86. 1893.
A perennial, with a cespitose caudex; stems erect or decumbent at the base, glabrate or sparingly strigulose, 3-6 dm. high, loosely branched; leaves 2-4 cm. long, spreading; stipules deltoid, acute, reflexed, 2 mm. long; leaflets 17-21, oval or obovate, rounded or retuse at the apex, cuneate at the base, 4-6 mm. long, glabrous above, white-strigose beneath; peduncles 5-10 cm. long, strigulose; racemes 2-8 cm. long; bracts lanceolate, 2 mm. long; pedicels 2 mm. long; calyx strigose-canescent, the tube 3 mm. long, 2 mm. broad, the teeth lance-subulate, acute, 1.5 mm. long; corolla purple, about 10 mm. long; banner obovate, rather strongly arched; wings nearly as long, the blade obliquely obovate, the claw orange; keel-petals nearly as long, orange, with dark-purple tip, the blade broadly obovate, rounded at the apex; pod rather thinwalled, somewhat inflated, canescent-strigulose, the stipe 3-4 mm. long, the body slightly falcate, lanceolate, tapering at each end, 12-15 mm. long, 4-5 mm. wide, 6 mm. thick, the lower suture deeply sulcate, the cross-section cordate, with a narrow partial septum.
TTE locality: Darwin Mesa, near Mill Creek Divide, Inyo County, California. Distribution: Known only from the type locality.

Perennial, Herbs, Stems woody below, or from woody crown or caudex, Taproot present, Nodules present, Stems prostrate, trailing, or mat forming, Stems less than 1 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs glabrous or sparsely glabrate, Stems or young twigs sparsely to densely hairy, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules conspicuous, Stipules membranous or chartaceous, Stipules persistent, Stipules free, Stipules clasping stem at the base, Leaves compound, Leaves odd pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets 10-many, Leaves hairy on one or both surfaces, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence axillary, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx glabrous, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals white, Petals pinkish to rose, Petals bicolored or with red, purple or yellow streaks or spots, Banner petal narrow or oblanceolate, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel petals auriculate, spurred, or gibbous, Keel tips obtuse or rounded, not beaked, Stamens 9-10, Stamens diadelphous, 9 united, 1 free, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Style persistent in fruit, Fruit a legume, Fruit stipitate, Fruit freely dehiscent, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit strongly curved, falcate, bent, or lunate, Fruit rugose wrinkled or reticulate, Fruit coriaceous or becoming woody, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit beaked, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit hairy, Fruit 11-many seeded, Seeds cordiform, mit-shaped, notched at one end, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.

Astragalus inyoensis is a species of milkvetch known by the common name Inyo milkvetch.

It is native to the Great Basin Desert mountains and flats of western Nevada, and the White and Inyo Mountains of eastern California, US.