Key to Astragalus of the Wasatch Mountains and Bear River Range

1	Plants low-growing, either mat-forming, prostrate, acaulescent to subacaulescent, with stems to 20 (35) cm long; leaflets strigose to densely pubescent on one or both sides.	2
1	Plants more or less erect and while occasionally very small, plants caulescent; leaflets most often glabrous to strigose (A. drummondii leaflets villous-pilose below and A. lentiginosus leaflets glabrous to pubescent on one or both sides).	12
2 (1)	Leaves with 5-7 spinulose-tipped leaflets; our variety prostrate, of alpine, often barren habitats within our area, in Cache, Salt Lake, Utah, and Wasatch Counties.	A. kentrophyta var. tegetarius
2	Leaves not spine-tipped; plants of various habitats and distribution within our area.	3
3 (2)	Leaves 3-foliate, silvery strigose with dolabriform[1] pubescence; flowers often appearing below, or on short pedicels close to the leaves; flowers white to ochroleucous[2]; pods densely hairy; in our area plants typically occur in the foothills and other areas below 7,000 ft elevation on the east side of the Bear River Range in Rich County.	A. gilviflorus
3	Leaves either simple or with more than 3 leaflets per leaf, leaves glabrous to pubescence with either basifixed or dolabriform hairs; flower color various; pods glabrous to densely villous; distribution variable.	4
4 (3)	Leaves all or mostly simple, reduced to a flattened leafstalk that functions as a leaf, only rarely with 3-5 leaflets on some leaves; flowers whitish to ochroleucous or pink-purple; dolabriform pubescence; occasional in our area, reported in Cache County and in the foothills on the east side of the Bear River Range in Rich County.
4	Leaves plurifoliate; flowers variously colored; pubescence basifixed or dolabriform.	5
5(4)	Plants small, to 10 cm in length; leaflets very densely clustered along the rachis, typically very tightly folded; pods inflated 15-37 mm long, 8-23 mm thick, strigose, often as long or longer than the leaves; plants very restricted to the southeastern-most fringe of our area on Green River Shale outcrops in Utah and Wasatch Counties from low elevation mixed desert shrub communities to limber and bristlecone pine communities up to 9,500 ft elevation.	A. lutosus[4]
5	Plants not fitting the above characteristics in most manners.	6
6 (5)	Flowers pink-purple, 5-7 mm long; leaves with 9-15 small (1-5 mm) linear to narrowly elliptic leaflets; inflated pods 10-17 mm long, 7-11 mm thick, mottled, and strigose; plants on rocky slopes and ridge tops in sagebrush, rabbitbrush, and open pinyon-juniper communities of Bear Lake and Rich County (lower east foothills of the Bear River Range).	A. jejunus var. jejunus
6	Flowers 15 mm or greater in length; other features variable.	7
7 (6)	Pods villous-hirsute to long, shaggy villous	8
7	Pods strigose or rarely with very small, soft straight hairs	11
8 (7)	Leaflets densely villous to densely villous-tomentose above and below; plants of Utah and other nearby states	9
8	Leaflets silvery strigose to strigulose-villosulous; plants endemic to Utah	10
9 (8)	Leaflets obovate or suborbicular to ovate; pods lance-ellipsoid or narrowly ovoid-acuminate, body without pubescence about 3-4 times longer than wide, nearly straight; plants widespread throughout our area and throughout much of Utah, eastern Nevada, and portions of Idaho and possibly Oregon.	A. utahensis
9	Leaves elliptic to oblanceolate; pods obliquely ovoid, body without pubescence more or less twice as long as wide, usually curved; plants widespread in the western States, but found only in Franklin County, Idaho and Rich County, Utah in our area. Two varieties distinguished below: ·   var. glareosus with pink-purple flowers ·  var. purshii with whitish to ochroleucous flowers	A. purshii
10 (8)	Flowers 18-23 mm long; calyx tube 6.2-7.5 mm long; pods 10-20 mm, densely hirsute with lustrous hairs; plants limited in their distribution to one population on the Moroni Formation (ash-flow tuff) in Utah County.	A. desereticus
10	Flowers 22-28 mm long; calyx tube 8.5-10.5(12) mm long; pods 15-40 mm long, villous hirsute; plants endemic to much of western Utah and found in our area in both Utah and Wasatch Counties.	A. eurekensis
11 (7)	Flowers white; leaflets widely elliptical, green with short, strigulose, dolabriform hairs; plants known from only 2 populations (2015) in openings in oak woodlands at about 5,300 ft elevation on the lower foothills in Weber County, just east of Ogden.	A. kelseyae
11	Flowers dull to bright pink-purple or pale; leaflets elliptical, pilose above and below with basifixed hairs; plants widespread in our area; two varieties distinguished below: ·    var. argophyllus occurs in meadows, along streambanks and lake shore and has bright pink-purple flowers 22-26 mm long ·    var. martini occurs in sagebrush and mountain brush communities and has dull pink-purple or pale flowers 18-22.5 mm long.	A. argophyllus
12 (1)	Uppermost leaves reduced to the rachis; leaflets, when present 3-13; flowers white to light yellow, 6.5-12 mm long, often with purple veins; pods more or less linear, laterally compressed, and strigose, 13-50 mm long; plants widespread in our area in pinyon-juniper, sagebrush, mountain brush, and aspen communities.	A. convallarius
12	Leaves and leaflets much more discernable; flowers, pods and distribution variable	13
13 (12)	Flowers pink-purple to dark lavender (some species also key below because they can have flowers that fall into those colors).	14
13	Flowers white, cream, to ochroleucous, occasionally with purple veins	16
14 (13)	Pods silky villous, 7-10 mm long; leaflets narrowly elliptic to lance-oblong; flowers pink-purple; calyx tubes villous; typically sod-forming in seasonally moist sites in the northern portion (Franklin and Bear Lake Counties, Idaho and Cache County, Utah) and the southern portion (Utah and Wasatch Counties, Utah) in our area.	A. agrestis[5]
14	Pods glabrous to strigose or sparsely short-hairy; leaflets elliptic to ovate, obovate, oblanceolate, to lanceolate; flowers pale pink to deep lavender; calyx tubes strigose; plants not sod-forming, occurring on a variety of sites in varying distributions.	15
15 (14)	Flowers 15-19 mm long, pink-purple with white wing tips; calyx strigose, typically darkened with short black hairs; pods glabrous to short hairy with black and white hairs; plants distributed throughout our area (not noted in Morgan County, but expected there as well) in mixed desert shrub, pinyon-juniper, sagebrush, and mountain brush communities	A. cibarius
15	Flowers 9-16 mm long, pale pink to pink-purple, but lacking white wing tips; calyx strigose, occasionally with only scattered short black hairs; plants found below 7,000 ft in pinyon-juniper, sagebrush, and mountain brush communities in Bear Lake County, Idaho and Rich County, Utah in our area.	A. lentiginosus var. platyphyllidus
16 (13)	Flowers small, 11 mm long or less (Astragalus lentiginosus var. chartaceus keys here as well as in next couplet)	17
16	Flowers larger, greater than 11 mm long	19
17 (16)	Pods more or less inflated; calyx tubes 3-9 mm, cylindric to short cylindric (two varieties) ·       var. salinus has flowers less than 9 mm long, pods that are transparent to translucent. ·       var .chartaceus (platyphyllidus) has flowers 9-16 mm long (keys below as well); pods stiffly papery to leathery, opaque or nearly so.	A. lentiginosus
17	Pods not inflated; calyx tubes less than 3 mm, campanulate	18
18 (17)	Pods laterally flattened, elliptic to oblong, glabrous to less often strigose, subsessile or on stipes to 5.5 mm long; flowers white to ochroleucous, may be purple-veined; leaflets glabrous above and thinly strigose, to strigose on the margins and below; found in Bear Lake and Cache Counties in the north and Utah and Wasatch Counties in the south.	A. tenellus
18	Pods narrowly oblong or oblanceolate, rounded (not laterally flattened), strigose, sessile or nearly so; flowers white to cream (often purple-veined) with purple keel tip; leaflets strigose above and below; not reported for Davis County, but otherwise found throughout our area in these habitats.	A. miser
19 (16)	Pods pilose to silky villous	20
19	Pods glabrous to strigose	21
20 (19)	Flowers 17-24 mm; pods oblong-ellipsoid, 7-10 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, more or less 3-sided (lower deeply groved); typically sod-forming in seasonally moist sites in the northern portion (Franklin and Bear Lake Counties, Idaho and Cache County, Utah) and the southern portion (Utah and Wasatch Counties, Utah) of our area.	A. agrestis[6]
20	Flowers dense (10-30 flowers per raceme), erect, less than 17 mm; ; plants with basifixed hairs; pods subsessile, spreading, ovoid or sub-globose, pilose, 6-14 mm long, 6-10 mm wide; introduced forage plant in Morgan, Rich, Salt Lake, Utah and Wasatch Counties in our area.	A. cicer
21 (19)	Pods strigose	22
21	Pods glabrous	23
22 (21)	Flowers 9-16 mm long; pods more or less inflated, 12-26 mm long, 5-10 mm wide; plants found below 7,000 ft in pinyon-juniper, sagebrush, and mountain brush communities in Bear Lake County, Idaho and Rich County, Utah in our area.	A. lentiginosus var. chartaceus (platyphyllidus)
22	Flowers 15-19 mm long; pods ellipsoid to oblong, straight to curved, woody or stiffly leathery; plants widespread throughout our area in mountain brush, sagebrush, pinyon-juniper, and desert shrub communities.	A. cibarius
23 (21)	Pods not inflated	24
23	Pods more or less inflated	25
24 (23)	Pods laterally compressed; plants in our area from Utah County and near Strawberry Reservoir in Wasatch County.	A. drummondii
24	Pods triquetrous, grooved on bottom; plants of Utah and Wasatch Counties in our area in pinyon-juniper, sagebrush, mountain brush, aspen, and conifer communities.	A. scopulorum
25(23)	Plants occurring in moist meadow or riparian habitats; racemes many-flowered, flowers spreading declined; raceme 2.5-16 cm in fruit; plants with dolabriform hairs; pods sessile or subsessile, erect, cylindroid, glabrous or pubescent, 10-20 mm long, 2.9-5.2 mm wide; in Cache, Rich, Salt Lake, Utah, and Wasatch Counties in our area. Two varieties occur in our area: ·       var. canadensis has glabrous, terete (not dorsally furrowed) pods, and is typically 4-12 dm tall; ·       var. brevidens has pubescent, dorsally furrowed pods, and is typically 1.5-5 dm tall	A. canadensis[7]
25	Plants generally smaller, occurring in drier sagebrush, mountain brush, and pinyon-juniper habitats	26
26 (25)	In our area, plants of Bear Lake County, Idaho and Rich County, Utah.	A. lentiginosus var. chartaceus (platyphyllidus)
26	In our area, plants of Morgan County south to Utah County, Utah	27
27 (26)	Pods inflated (not bladdery), crescent-shaped, 15-37 mm long; plants more widespread, occur in Davis, Morgan, Salt Lake, Utah, and Weber Counties County (plants in flower without fruit are very difficult to distinguish from the following species; pods are generally required and are very similar in appearance).	A. beckwithii var. beckwithii
27	Pods bladdery inflated, ellipsoid (not crescent shaped), 25-55 mm long; plants in our area have been noted to occur only in Utah County.	A. oophorus var. caulescens
16 (13)	Plants typically very robust, with numerous leaves and potentially reaching ½ m or more in height; often with many-flowered racemes, the inflorescence is typically elongated in flower and more so when pods are produced and crowded (A. drummondii keys here, but could also key below because it commonly has fewer flowers and a less densely-flowered raceme).	17
16	Plants smaller, occasionally reaching ½ m or more in height, but much less leafy; typically with significantly fewer than 25 flowers, inflorescence not as elongate	19
17 (16)	Leaflets villous-pilose below and typically glabrous above; flowers 18-26 mm long, whitish to ochroleucous with purple keel tip; pods narrowly oblong to oblanceolate, glabrous; plants in our area from Utah County and near Strawberry Reservoir in Wasatch County.	A. drummondii
17	Leaflets strigose below and glabrous to stigose above; flowers 8-18 mm long, white to cream or ochroleucous; pods inflated.	18
18 (17)	Racemes many-flowered, flowers spreading declined; raceme 2.5-16 cm in fruit; plants with dolabriform hairs; pods sessile or subsessile, erect, cylindroid, glabrous or pubescent, 10-20 mm long, 2.9-5.2 mm wide; in Cache, Rich, Salt Lake, Utah, and Wasatch Counties in our area. Two varieties occur in our area: ·       var. canadensis has glabrous, terete (not dorsally furrowed) pods, and is typically 4-12 dm tall; ·       var. brevidens has pubescent, dorsally furrowed pods, and is typically 1-5 dm tall	A. canadensis[8]
18	10-30 flowers per raceme, flowers ascending; raceme axis 2-7 cm in fruit; plants with basifixed hairs; pods subsessile, spreading, ovoid or sub-globose, pilose, 6-14 mm long, 6-10 mm wide; introduced forage plant in Morgan, Rich, Salt Lake, Utah and Wasatch Counties in our area.	A. cicer
19 (16)	Flowers 5-11 (16) mm long (plants with flowers longer than 11 mm key in both places)	20
19	Flowers 14-24 mm long	22
20 (19)	Pods more or less inflated Both var. platyphyllus and var. salinus key here; ·       var. salinus has small (5.5-8.5 mm) pale flowers ·       var. platyphyllus has larger (9-16 mm) whitish to pale pink or pink-purple flowers (keys out below when flowers are > 14 mm)	A. lentiginosus
20	Pods elliptic to oblong or oblanceolate in outline	21
21 (20)	Flowers white to ochroleucous, may be purple-veined; leaflets glabrous above and thinly strigose, to strigose on the margins and below; pods laterally flattened, elliptic to oblong, glabrous to less often strigose, subsessile or on stipes to 5.5 mm long; found in Bear Lake and Cache Counties in the north and Utah and Wasatch Counties in the south.	A. tenellus
21	Flowers white to cream (often purple-veined) with purple keel tip; leaflets strigose above and below; pods narrowly oblong or oblanceolate, rounded (not laterally flattened), strigose, sessile or nearly so; not reported for Davis County, but otherwise found throughout our area in these habitats.	A. miser
22 (19)	Pods more or less inflated	23
22	Pods ellipsoid to oblong, not inflated	25
23 (22)	Pods opaque, or nearly so; plants of Bear Lake and Rich Counties in the north	A. lentiginosus var. chartaceus (platyphyllidus)
23	Pods often purple-streaked or mottled, not opaque; plants of Weber County and South in the Bear River Range and Wasatch Mountains	24
24 (23)	Pods inflated (not bladdery), crescent-shaped, 15-37 mm long; plants more widespread, found in Davis, Morgan, Salt Lake, Utah, and Weber Counties County (plants in flower without fruit are very difficult to distinguish from the following species; pods are generally required and are very similar in appearance).	A. beckwithii var. beckwithii
24	Pods bladdery inflated, ellipsoid, 25-55 mm long; plants in our area only found in Utah.	A. oophorus var. caulescens
25 (22)	Leaflets strigose above and below; pods 7-10 mm long, silky villous, oblong-ellipsoid, subsessile on stipe to 1 mm long; typically sod-forming in seasonally moist sites in the northern portion (Franklin and Bear Lake Counties, Idaho and Cache County, Utah) and the southern portion (Utah and Wasatch Counties, Utah) in our area.	A. agrestis
25	Leaflets glabrous above and glabrous to strigose below; pods 17-35 mm long, glabrous to strigose, sessile or stipitate; plants not sod-forming of various habitats and distribution.	26
26 (25)	Flowers 15-19 mm long, spreading in a subcapitate raceme, 0.5-3 cm long; calyx 7-9 mm, strigose, typically darkened with short black hairs; pods sessile, strigose, not 3-edged; plants widespread throughout our area in mountain brush, sagebrush, pinyon-juniper, and desert shrub communities.	A. cibarius
26	Flowers 18-24 mm long, declined to nodding in a more elongate raceme, 1-7 cm long; calyx 9-11 mm, strigulose, lacking short black hairs; pods on stipe 4-9 mm long, glabrous, 3-edged; plants of Utah and Wasatch Counties in our area in pinyon-juniper, sagebrush, mountain brush, aspen, and conifer communities.	A. scopulorum

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[1] Dolabriform = straight appressed hairs attached by the middle, spreading to free tips

[2] Ochroleucous = Yellowish-white

[3] USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 386.

[4] Margaret Williams, hosted by the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

[5] USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 380.

[6] USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 380.

[7] Joe F. Duft, hosted by the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. 1992. Western wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. West Region, Sacramento.

[8] Joe F. Duft, hosted by the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. 1992. Western wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. West Region, Sacramento.