Description from
Flora of China
Hedysarum gmelinii var. lineiforme H. C. Fu.
Herbs, perennial, 15-20 cm tall. Stems numerous, decumbent to ascending. Stipules lanceolate, 7-9 mm, connate farther than middle. Leaves 6-10 cm, 11- or 13-foliolate; leaflet blades long ovate, ovate-oblong, or ovate-elliptic, 8-20 × 4-6 mm, abaxially appressed pubescent, adaxially glabrous. Racemes dense, ovoid to oblong, with many flowers; bracts ca. 2 × as long as pedicel; peduncle longer than leaves. Pedicel ca. 1 mm. Calyx campanulate, 7-10 mm, pubescent; teeth subulate-lanceolate, 1.5-2.5 × as long as tube. Corolla pinkish purple; standard obovate, 1.5-1.7 cm; wings 2/3-3/4 as long as standard; keel slightly longer than standard. Ovary pubescent. Legume divided into 2 or 3 articles; articles globose to broadly ovoid, inflated, pubescent, usually prickly, margin inconspicuous. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Jul-Sep.
Hedysarum gmelinii var. tongtianhense Y. H. Wu (Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin 19: 8. 1999), described from Qinghai, is unlikely to belong to this species and may not even be a Hedysarum.
Gravelly areas in steppes; 800-1800 m. C Gansu, N Hebei, Henan, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shanxi, N Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Mongolia, E Russia].
