盐木黄耆 yan mu huang qi

Astragalus halodendron Bunge.

Plants 60-90 cm tall, shrubby. Stems of current year 10-40 cm, very densely covered with medifixed, appressed hairs 0.7-1 mm. Leaves (1.5-)2-4 cm; stipules 2-5 mm, rather densely covered with asymmetrically bifurcate, appressed hairs, glabres­cent to glabrous with age; petiole 0.2-0.5 cm, with short rachis hairy like stem, hardening, subspiny, persistent; leaflets in 1 pair, those of lower leaves sometimes in 2 pairs, 15-35(-50) × (1.5-)2-3(-4) mm, in brachyblast leaves often only 10-15 mm, both surfaces densely to rather densely covered with ± medi­fixed, appressed hairs 0.5-1(-1.5) mm. Racemes 3-8(-13) cm, loosely 6- to many flowered; peduncle 2-4 cm; bracts 1-2 mm. Calyx 6-7(-8) mm, densely covered with symmetrically or asymmetrically bifurcate, white hairs 0.6-0.8 mm; teeth 0.5-1.2 mm. Petals purple; standard rhombic-elliptic, 13-15 × ca. 6 mm, apex slightly emarginate; wings (10-)11-12 mm; keel (9-)10-11 mm. Legumes 5-7(-8) mm, 3(-4) mm high and 2-2.5 mm wide, with a beak ca. 1 mm, 2-locular; valves densely covered with soft, basifixed, ascending, white hairs ca. 2 mm and with very short, subappressed hairs.

Xinjiang [Kazakhstan].