蒺藜黄耆 ji li huang qi

Astragalus kirghisicus Stscheglejew.

Plants with appressed to ascending white hairs 0.2-1.5 mm. Stems from nearly absent to 40 cm, prostrate to ascending, hairy. Leaves 1.5-7 cm; stipules membranous, 2-3 mm, hairy; petiole 0.5-2 cm, like rachis hairy; leaflets in 4-10 pairs, nar­rowly elliptic, 2.5-15 × 0.8-4 mm, both surfaces sericeous with appressed hairs, apex acute. Racemes sessile, rarely with a pe­duncle up to 2.5 cm, (1 or)2-8-flowered; bracts membranous, 1-3 mm. Calyx tubular, 3-5 mm, densely hairy; teeth 1-2 mm. Petals whitish or white suffused with mauve or pink; standard narrowly oblong, 4-10 × 1.2-2.5 mm, apex retuse; wings 4-6 mm; keel 3-5 mm. Legumes mostly starlike spreading, straight or slightly curved, oblong-triangular, 4-12 mm, 2.5-4 mm high and wide, distinctly bigibbous at base, acute at apex, with a deep dorsal groove widened at base; valves with short appressed hairs 0.05-0.15 mm and with much longer appressed to subappressed hairs up to 1.5 mm.

Steppes, semideserts, from the plains up to 3000 m. Xinjiang, ?Xizang [Afghanistan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajiki­stan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan; N Africa, SW Asia (Caucasus)].

The Chinese record of Astragalus cruciatus Link (FRPS 42(1): 242. 1993) is referable to A. tribuloides.