630513 Astragalus aboriginorum Richardson
Distribution
Western Alaska: Rare
Northern Alaska - Yukon: Scattered
Shrub Tundra: Scattered
Bordering boreal or alpine areas: Frequent
- Richardson in Franklin, Narr. Journey Polar Sea (Bot. App.): 746 (1823). Holotype (BM): Canada: Saskatchewan, "Sandy plains in the neighbourhood of Carlton", 1819-1822, leg. Richardson.
2n=
16 (2x). - Alaska, Canada? - At least three reports.
Geography: Cordilleran: ALA.
Notes: Yurtsev: Astragalus aboriginorum (including A. richardsonii E. Sheld. quoad typum) represents a steppe morphotype, contrasting with A. tolmaczevii (A. richardsonii apud Porsild) with robust habit, numerous flat leaflets, small numerous flowers, long narrow crescent-like stipitate legumes with stipe much longer than calyx. There are some other taxa of the A. aboriginorum affinity in North America (and probably in northern Asia).
Murray and Elven: We assign plants from at least the central and western Brooks Range in the arctic parts of northern Alaska to A. aboriginorum. We consider this to be the most frequent species in Alaska and the Yukon Territory and find the differences from more southern Cordilleran plants too small to justify separation. There is not necessarily any conflict between the opinions here. Yurtsev probably had no northern Alaskan material available for study.
Welsh (2007) included both A. aboriginorum and A. richardsonii (see below) in his A. australis var. glabriusculus (A. Gray) Isely, Syst. Bot. 8: 421 (1983), with holotype (K): "vallies of the Canadian Rocky Mountains", leg. Drummond. Note that Gervais et al. (1999) reported a diploid chromosome number for subsp. glabriusculus from Quebec.
Higher Taxa
- Astragalus [6305,genus]