Oxytropis sericea Nutt.
silky locoweed (white locoweed)
Fabaceae (Pea family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Virginia Skilton     (Photo ID #2753)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Oxytropis sericea
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Oxytropis sericea var. speciosa

Species Information

General:
Low perennial herb from a stout taproot and branching stem-base covered with persistent leaf-stalks and stipules; tufted, 5-25 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal, odd-pinnately compound, 5-30 cm long; leaflets 11 to 21, oval to lance-oblong, 7-30 mm long, grey or silvery silky-hairy on both surfaces; stipules membranous, about as long as the leaflets, joined to the leaf-stalks for 1/2 of their length, long-hairy to glabrous on the back, the margins fringed with bristly hairs.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a spike-like raceme 2-10 cm long, elongating in age, of 5 to 25 pea-like flowers, the raceme-stalks stout, erect, 7-25 cm long; corollas whitish to pale yellow, sometimes pinkish-tinged, 15-25 mm long; calyces cylindric, silky with dark and pale hairs, 9-13 mm long, the linear-lanceolate teeth about 1/2 as long as the tube.
Fruits:
Pods, oblong, 15-25 mm long, erect, short-beaked, fleshy when green but bony when dry, short-hairy, nearly 2-chambered.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Oxytropis sericea

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
1480 520 2682
Slope Gradient (%)
24 0 100

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

199 20 356
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
2 0 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
B
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
160
Modal BEC Zone Class
IDF

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

AT(2), BAFA(6), BWBS(3), ESSF(43), ICH(1), IDF(74), IMA(13), PP(12), SWB(1)

Habitat and Range

Dry sandy, gravelly or rocky, grassy slopes, bluffs, river terraces, meadows and roadsides from the steppe to alpine zones; frequent throughout BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; N to S YT, E to MB and S to ID and WY.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia