Balloon Milk Vetch

Phaca argentata Rydberg, sp. nov
Perennial, with a deep root and short cespitose caudex; stems many, decumbent, branched, canescent, more or less purple-tinged, leaves 4—8 cm. long, ascending; stipules broadly deltoid, 4 mm. long; leaflets 1 1-25, obovate to oblong, 6-10 mm. long, 2-6 mm. wide, rounded or retuse at the apex, silvery-white, strigose; peduncles 3-7 cm. long; racemes short, 5-7-flowered; calyxtube campanulate, 4 mm. long, silvery-strigose, the lobes subulate from a bioad base, 1.5 mm. long; corolla tinged with purple, 12-14 mm. long; banner obovate, gradually tapering below; wings shorter, the blade oblong-lunate, obtuse, longer than the claw, with a prominent, recurved basal auricle; keel-petals broader, rounded at the apex; pod glabrous, beautifully mottled, the stipe 4-5 mm. long, the body obovoid, 2.5-3 cm. long, 1.5 cm. wide.
Type collected on the west slope of Star Peak, West Humboldt Mountains, Nevada. Julv 31, 1912, Heller 10633 (herb. N. Y. Bot. Gard.). Distribution: Western Nevada.

Phaca pinosa (Elmer) Rydberg, sp. now
Astragalus Whitney i pinosus Elmer, Bot. Gaz. 39: 54. 1905. Astragalus Hookerianus pinosus Jepson, Man. Fl. PI. Calif. 564. 1925.
Perennial, with a thick woody root; stems numerous, 1-2 dm. long, decumbent, glabrous or nearly so; leaves 3-5 cm. long; stipules scaiious, broadly deltoid, about 3 mm. long, the lower connate; leaflets 15-19, sparingly strigulose or glabrate, 6-10 mm. long, linear or oblong; peduncles 4-6 cm. long; racemes short, 5-10-flowered; bracts deltoid, 2-3 mm. long; calyx-tube campanulate, 3 mm. long, whiteand black-hairy, the lobes subulate, 1 mm. long; corolla ochroleucous, about 1 cm. long, similar to those of the preceeding species; pod glabrous, the stipe 2-3 mm. long, the body obovoid, 2-2.5 qm. long, 15-18 mm. wide, mottled.
Type locality': Mt. Pinos, Ventura County, California. Distribution: Known only from the type locality.

Phaca whitneyi (A. Gray) A. Heller, Muhlenbergia 9: 67. 1913
Astragalus Whitneyi A. Gray, Proc. Am. Acad. 6: 526. 1865.
Tragacantha Whitneyi Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 949. 1891.
Astragalus Hookerianus Whitneyi Jepson, Man. Fl. PI. Calif. 564. 1925.
Perennial, with a very thick woody root and short branched caudex; stems numerous, 1-2 dm. high, decumbent, branched, strigose; leaves 4-7 cm. long; stipules lanceolate or deltoid, 2-3 mm. long; leaflets 11-19, linear or linear oblong, 5-10 mm. long, 1-3 mm. wide, canescent-strigose, obtuse; peduncles 3-5 cm. long; racemes short, 5-8-flowered; bracts lanceolate, 2-3 mm. long; calyx-tube 3-4 mm. long, sometimes somewhat black-hairy, the lobes subulate, 1 ram. long; corolla pale-purple or ochroleucous, about 1 em. long; petals as in the preceding; pod glabrous, the stipe 3-4 mm. long, the body obovoid, about 2 mm. long and 1.5 cm. wide, mottled.
Tvpic locality: Mountain near Sonora Pass. California. Distribution: Mountains of central California and western Nevada.

Perennial, Herbs, Stems woody below, or from woody crown or caudex, Taproot present, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems or branches arching, spreading or decumbent, Stems less than 1 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young t wigs sparsely to densely hairy, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules conspicuous, Stipules membranous or chartaceous, 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 10-many, Leaves hairy on one or both surfaces, Flowers in axillary clusters or few-floweredracemes, 2-6 flowers, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescences globose heads, capitate or subcapitate, Inflorescence axillary, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx hairy, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals white, Petals ochroleucous, cream colored, Petals blue, lavander to purple, or violet, Petals bicolored or with red, purple or yellow streaks or spots, Banner petal narrow or oblanceolate, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel petals auriculate, spurred, or gibbous, 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 freely dehiscent, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit or valves persistent on stem, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit inflated or turgid, Fruit beaked, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit hairy, Fruit 11-many seeded, Seeds cordiform, mit-shaped, notched at one end, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.

Astragalus whitneyi is a species of legume known by the common name balloon-pod milk-vetch, balloon milk-vetch, or Whitney's locoweed. It is a native to the Cascade Range and the Sierra Nevada (U.S.) and is unusual for its bright red or red-splotched balloon-like seedpods.

Varieties include:

Astragalus whitneyi var. confusus Astragalus whitneyi var. siskiyouensis Astragalus whitneyi var. whitneyi Astragalus whitneyi flowers and seedpods