柴达木黄耆 chai da mu huang qi

Astragalus kronenburgii B. Fedtschenko var. chaidamuen­sis S. B. Ho, Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin 3(1): 42. 1983.

Plants ca. 18 cm tall, nearly acaulescent, caespitose, vege­tative parts covered with medifixed, appressed, white hairs 0.3-1 mm. Stems branched at base, parts of current year, if developed, up to 0.5 cm, densely hairy. Leaves of sterile shoots 1-2 cm; stipules ca. 2 mm, densely hairy; petiole 0.5-1 cm, with 1 or 2 pairs of small leaflets 2-3 mm. Leaves of flowering shoots 3-7 cm; petiole 1-2 cm, like rachis densely hairy; leaf­lets in (2 or)3 or 4 pairs, linear, 10-15 × 1-1.5 mm, both sur­faces ± densely hairy, apex acute. Racemes subumbellate, 3-7-flowered; peduncle 5-14 cm, loosely to rather densely white hairy; bracts 1-2 mm, sparsely furnished with mostly basifixed white and black hairs. Calyx ca. 10 mm, loosely to rather densely covered with medifixed, appressed, white hairs 0.5-1 mm and mostly slightly shorter black hairs; teeth 2.2-3 mm. Petals probably yellow; standard elliptic, 15-17 × 6-7 mm, apex emarginate; wings ca. 15 mm, limbs deeply incised; keel ca. 12 mm. Ovary with a stipe ca. 2 mm, linear, white hairy. Legumes unknown.

● 3000-3300 m. Gansu, Qinghai, ?Xinjiang.

The Chinese record of Astragalus nematodes Bunge ex Boissier from Xinjiang (FRPS 42(1): 264. 1993) is possibly based on a misiden­tification of A. chaidamuensis. Astragalus nematodes is not known to occur in China.