疏花岩黄耆 shu hua yan huang qi

Hedysarum alpinum Linnaeus subsp. laxiflorum (Bentham ex Baker) H. Ohashi & Tateishi.

Herbs, perennial, 30-120 cm tall. Stems numerous, erect. Stipules lanceolate, ca. 7 mm, connate. Leaves 10-15 cm, 17-33-foliolate; leaflet blades elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 1.5-2.5 × 0.6-1 cm, abaxially pubescent along veins, adaxially glabrous. Racemes lax, with many flowers; bracts ovate, ca. 1/2 as long as pedicel, caducous; peduncle longer than leaves. Pedicel 4-6 mm. Calyx campanulate, 4-6 mm, glabrous or calyx teeth pu­bescent; teeth lanceolate, unequal, most abaxial tooth longer than others, adaxial and lateral teeth ca. 1/5 as long as tube. Corolla purple; standard obovate, 1.4-1.5 cm; wings as long as to slightly longer than standard; keel 2-3 mm longer than standard. Ovary glabrous. Legume divided into 3 or 4 articles; articles broadly ellipsoid, 5-6 × 4-5 mm, compressed, gla­brous. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. Aug-Sep.

W Xizang? [Kashmir, NW Pakistan].

No specimens of this species from China have been seen by the authors. It is likely that the lectotype of Hedysarum laxiflorum (Fal­coner 440), cited as being from near "West Tibet" by Baker (Fl. Brit. India 2: 146. 1846) and by H. Ohashi and Tateishi (Fl. E. Himalaya, 3rd. Rep. 368. 1975), was actually from the Karakoram mountains in NW Pakistan.