边向花黄耆 bian xiang hua huang qi

Astragalus moellendorffii var. kansuensis E. Peter.

Plants 35-45 cm tall, vegetative parts with hairs 0.5-0.8(-1 mm). Stems glabrous or hairy in nodal region, up to 3 mm thick. Leaves 6-10 cm; stipules 10-23 mm, ciliate; petiole 1.5-3 cm, like rachis glabrous or sparsely hairy especially at in­sertion of leaflets; leaflets in 2-4 pairs, narrowly elliptic to nar­rowly ovate, 1.5-4(-6) × 0.5-2 cm, abaxially sparsely to loosely appressed hairy, adaxially glabrous, apex rounded to subacute. Racemes densely 10- to many flowered, elongating with age; peduncle 6-22 cm, glabrous; bracts greenish, narrowly ellip­tic, 5-8 mm, white or black ciliate, apex acute. Calyx 6-8 mm, outside very sparsely or toward apex loosely white and more densely black hairy or nearly glabrous, inner side of tube at least in upper 1/2 densely covered with appressed black or more rarely white hairs; teeth unequal, 0.2-1.5 mm. Petals yellow or purplish; standard ovate to elliptic, 18-19 × 7-10 mm; wings 17-18 mm; keel 15-16 mm. Legumes with a black hairy stipe 6-10 mm, narrowly ellipsoid, 2-2.5 cm, ca. 4 mm high and ca. 5 mm wide, slightly keeled ventrally, widely flattened dorsally, apex long acuminate into a short hooked beak; valves papery, rather densely covered with nearly spreading, predominantly black hairs 0.1-0.2 mm.

● 1800-2600 m. Gansu, Hebei, Ningxia, Shanxi.