Lahontan Milkvetch

Homalobus porrectus (S. Wats.) Rydb. Bull. Torrey Club
51: 19. 1924.
Astragalus porrectus S. Wats. Bot. King's Expl. 75. 1871. Tragacantha porrecta Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 947. 1891.
A perennial; stems 3-6 dm. high, sparingly strigose or glabrate; leaves 6-10 cm. long; stipules large, membranous, triangular, acuminate, 4—5 mm. long, the lower ones sheathingconnate; leaflets 8-13, broadly obovate, 8-15 mm. long, 7-12 mm. wide, glabrous above, sparingly strigose (especially along the margin and the midrib) or glabrate beneath, rounded or slightly emarginate at apex; peduncles 5-10 cm. long; racemes many-flowered, in fruit elongate, 1-2 dm. long; calyx sparingly hispidulous-strigose with black hairs, the tube 4-4.5 mm. long, 3 mm. broad, the teeth subulate, 3 mm. long; corolla yellow; banner obovate, with abroad claw, 12 mm. long; wings about 10 mm. long, the blade obliquely oblanceolate, acute at the apex, about equaling the claw, with a rather large oblong basal auricle; keel-petals S mm. long, the blade about equaling the claw, obliquely semicircular, rounded at the apex, with a small rounded basal auricle ; pod glabrous, stipitate, strongly bent at the union of the stipe and the body, the stipe 4-6 mm. long, the body oblong, arcuate, erect, about 1.5 cm. long, 4 mm. wide; seeds obliquely reniform, 3 mm. long, 1.5 mm. broad.
Type locality: Trinity Mountains, Nevada.
Distribution: Western Nevada.

Perennial, Herbs, Stems woody below, or from woody crown or caudex, Taproot present, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems less than 1 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs glaucous, Stems or young twigs glabrous or sparsely glabrate, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules conspicuous, Stipules membranous or chartac eous, Stipules persistent, Stipules connate to each other, forming a tuber or sheath, Leaves compound, Leaves odd pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets 5-9, Leaflets 10-many, Leaves glabrous or nearly so, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence axillary, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx glabrous, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals white, Banner petal narrow or oblanceolate, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel petals auriculate, spurred, or gibbous, Keel tips obtuse or rounded, not beaked, Stamens 9-10, Stamens diadelphous, 9 united, 1 free, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Style persistent in fruit, Fruit a legume, Fruit stipitate, Fruit unilocular, Fruit tardily or weakly dehiscent, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit strongly curved, falcate, bent, or lunate, Fruit or valves persistent on stem, Fruit coriaceous or becoming woody , Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit beaked, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Seeds cordiform, mit-shaped, notched at one end, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.