Astragalus vogelii subsp. fatimensis Maire, Mém. Soc. Hist. Nat. Afr.

Astragalus vogelii subsp. fatimensis Maire, Mém. Soc. Hist. Nat. Afr. Nord 3: 126. 1933. (Figs. 1 & 2)

Annual herbs, prostrate, caespitose, stems slender, up to 12 cm long, pilose with appressed, medifixed, white hairs. Stipules 1.5–2.0 × ca. 1 mm, free from petiole, erect or half spreading, triangular-lanceolate, pilose with white medifixed hairs on both surfaces, ciliate along margins. Leaves 4–5 cm long, imparipinnately compound; petiole ca. 6 mm long; hairy as on stem; rachis 9–12 mm long; leaflets 3–7 pairs, opposite to subopposite, subsessile, ovate or oblong, 3–5 × 1–2 mm, cuneate at base, obtuse or minutely retuse at apex, entire along margins, densely pilose on both surfaces with appressed, medifixed, white hairs. Inflorescence axillary, peduncled umbel or capitate raceme, 2–13-flowered; peduncle 2–5 (10–40.5) mm long, generally distinctly shorter than subtending leaf or sometimes equal to subtending leaf, hairy as on stem. Bracts ca. 1 mm long, longer than pedicel, linear, pilose with white hairs. Flowers 3–5 mm long, pinkish to violet, subsessile, erect; pedicel less than 1 mm long, pubescent. Calyx ca. 3 mm long, campanulate, pilose generally with white hairs outside, sometimes with black hairs especially on teeth, glabrous inside, tube ca. 1.5 mm long, teeth linear, equal to tube. Petals slightly longer than calyx; standard ca. 3 mm long, oblong-elliptic with emarginate tip; wing petals ca. 2.5 mm long, shorter than standard and keel petals, lamina ca. 1.5 mm long, narrowly ovate with subobtuse apex, claw ca. 1 mm long; keel petals ca. 3 mm long, equal to standard, lamina ca. 1 mm long, oblong with subobtuse apex, almost straight, claw ca. 2 mm long. Staminal sheath ca. 2 mm long, obliquely cut at mouth (obtuse at mouth in open condition), free filaments minute; vexillary filament ca. 2 mm long, free from staminal sheath. Ovary ca. 2 mm long, sessile, densely pilose with white hairs; style minute, incurved; stigma capitate, glabrous. Pods 5–10 × 2.5–3.0 mm, sessile, straight, turgid, spreading in all directions, ovoid-oblong, deeply grooved dorsally, shortly acuminate, covered with appressed or spreading, white, subbasifixed hairs, unilocular, 4–6-seeded. Seeds 1.5– 2.0 × ca. 1 mm, oblong-reniform, yellowish-brown, turgid, irregularly depressed, smooth, glabrous.

Flowering & Fruiting:—January to March.

Habitat:—In India, the taxon is restricted to saline habitats only along road margins or sides in very thin and fragmented populations. Only about 26 individuals were noticed in a 2–3 km long stretch. The Banaskantha District borders with the Sabarkantha District in the east, Kachchh District in the west, Patan and Mehsana Districts in the south and Rajasthan State in the north, hence there is a probability that this taxon occurs in adjacent areas and attempts will be made to collect more specimens to assess its conservation status in India.

Distribution in India:— Gujarat, Punjab. No specimens have been observed from Rajasthan as reported in Sanjappa (1992). Kumar and Sane (2003) have wrongly reported it from Maharashtra.

Distribution in world:— Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen (Podlech & Zarre 2013).

Notes:— Astragalus vogelii subsp. fatimensis differs from subsp. vogelii by its dense inflorescence head (vs lax inflorescence) and spreading pods (vs erect pods), but sometimes in the specimen ‘Fatma valley, W. Schimper 843 (P photo!)’ the inflorescence is more elongated with lax flowers. Generally the peduncles are distinctly shorter than the leaves, however, in our specimens they are shorter to almost equal to the leaves. The hairs on the calyx are generally white or sometimes intermixed with black hairs. Podlech & Zarre (2013) and Maire (1933) also observed this feature of the calyx. The pods are unilocular in this taxon, however, Baker (1876) has mistakenly mentioned bilocular pods.