Astragalus crassicarpus var. paysonii

General:
Fleshy perennial herb from a thick taproot and stout, branching stem-base; stems prostrate to ascending, mat-forming, 10-50 cm long, minutely appressed-hairy.

Leaves:
Alternate, pinnately compound; leaflets 13 to 25, oblong to elliptic, often blunt and notched at the tip, 5-20 mm long, fleshy, greenish, appressed-hairy below, glabrous above; stipules lanceolate, 3-8 mm long, not joined.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a loose, axillary raceme of 5 to 20 spreading, pea-like flowers, the raceme-stalks shorter than the leaves; corollas 2-3 cm long, usually white, the keel often purple-tinged, the wings about equal to the banner but much longer than the keel; calyces tubular, black-hairy, about 1/2 as long as the corolla, the teeth lanceolate, about 1/3 the length of the tube.

Fruits:
Pods, ellipsoid to globe-shaped, unstalked, 2-2.5 cm in diameter, glabrous, fleshy and reddish at first, becoming bony and brownish in age, almost completely 2-chambered.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia