Morro Milkvetch

Phaca curtipes (A. Gray) Rydberg
Astragalus curtipes A. Gray. Proe. Am. Acad. 6: 217. 1864. Astragalus leucopsis brachypus Greene. Pittonia I: 33. 1887. Tragacanlha curtipes Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 944. 1891. Astragalus leucopsis curlus Sheldon, Minn. Bot. Stud. 1: 134. 1894. Astragalus leucopsis curtipes M. E. Jones, Contr. W. Bot. 10: 62. 1902.
Perennial; stem canescent, 3-5 dm. high; leaves 1-1.5 dm. long, ascending; stipules broadly deltoid, acuminate, 5-7 mm. long; petioles 1-2 cm. long, as well as the rachis canescent; leaflets 25-35, oblong to linear, rounded to retuse at the apex, 1-1.5 cm. long, silky-canescent beneath, glabrous above; peduncles 1-1.5 dm. high, canescent; bracts lanceolate, 2 mm. long; calyx more or less black-hairy, the tube 5 mm. long, the lobes subulate, 2 mm. long; corolla ochroleucous, 12-15 mm. long; banner obovate, giadually tapering below; wings 11-13 mm. long, the blades oblong-lunate, obtuse, shorter than the claw, with an acute basal auricle; keel-petals similar, but the blade broader and more lunate; pod minutely strigulose, the stipe 4-6 mm. long, shortei than the calyx, the body obliquely ovoid, about 3 cm. long and 1.5 cm. wide, the upper suture neailv straight, the lower strongly convex; seeds dark -brown, obliquely leniform, 3 mm. long.
Type locality: San Luis Obispo. California.
Distribution: San Luis Obispo County, and San Miguel Island, California; also Coronado Islands, Lower California.

Perennial, Herbs, Stems woody below, or from woody crown or caudex, Taproot present, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems less than 1 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs sparsely to densely hairy, Stem hairs hispid to villous, Stems silvery, canescent, tomentose, cobwebby, or wooly, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules conspicuous, Stipules membranous or chartaceous, Stipules persistent, Stipules connate to each other, forming a tuber or sheath, Leaves compound, Leaves odd pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets 10-many, Leaves hairy on one or both surfaces, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence axillary, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx glabrous, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals white, Petals ochroleucous, cream colored, Banner petal narrow or oblanceolate, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel petals auriculate, spurred, or gibbous, Keel tips obtuse or rounded, not beaked, Stamens 9-10, Stamens diadelphous, 9 united, 1 free, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Style persistent in fruit, Fruit a legume, Fruit stipitate, Fruit unilocular, Fruit t ardily or weakly dehiscent, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit inflated or turgid, Fruit beaked, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit hairy, Fruit 11-many seeded, Seeds cordiform, mit-shaped, notched at one end, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.

Astragalus curtipes is a species of milkvetch known by the common name Morro milkvetch. It is endemic to the Central Coast of California, including the Morro Bay area in San Luis Obispo County.