Low milkvetch

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Low milkvetch

Low milk vetch leaves

Low milkvetch

Low milkvetch

Low milkvetch

Low milkvetch

Low milkvetch

Low milkvetch

Low milk vetch flowers

Low milkvetch

Low milkvetch

Low milkvetch

Low milkvetch

Morphology

Stem

1-several, 0 to 4.8 inches long, outer prostrate or decumbent, inner nearly erect.

Leaves

Alternate, odd-pinnately compound, 4/5 to 5 inches long; leaflets mostly 7-17, elliptic, oblong, or lanceolate1/6 to 3/5 inch long, 1/18 to 1/4 inch wide, variously gray-pubescent, lower surface usually paler and more densely pubescent than upper; base pointed or rounded; tip rounded or pointed; stipules lanceolate, 1/12 to 1/3 inch long, distinct.

Inflorescence

Flowers of two kinds; regular flowers in heads; heads dense, ovoid to round, 3-17-flowered; stalks slender, 1.2 to 4.8 inches long; inconspicuous, self-pollinating flowers borne 1-5 together on short stalks at plant base. The two flower types are not generally produced on the same plant.

Flower

Short-stalked; calyx bell-shaped or very short-tubular, 1/12 to 1/4 inch long, teeth long-tapering; corollas 1/3 to 3/5 inch long, greenish-white to yellowish or purplish, sometimes purple-veined or tips purple; banner petal strongly bent backwards; stamens 10, 9 united, 1 free; inconspicuous flowers about 1/6 to 1/4 inch long, petals often shorter than calyx teeth.

Fruit

Pods, prostrate to ascending, similar in both flower types, oblong-ellipsoid or spindle-shaped, mostly .5 to 1.2 inch long, 1/5 to 1/3 inch wide, variously pubescent; seeds somewhat heart-shaped, 1/16 to 1/10 inch long, irregularly pitted, brownish, sometimes purple-spotted.

Ecology

Habitat

Rocky or sandy prairie hillsides, bluffs, canyons, roadsides, waste areas, pond and lake shores; variety of soils.

Distribution

West 4/5 of Kansas

Additional Notes