Crevice Gardening ......in defence of rock.....

[Lesley Cox]

Astragalus pelliger (as in the IRG) is very nice and one wouldn't say "no" given the opportunity but I think Anne's is ever better, so furry, so silver, so compact.

[TheOnionMan]

Anne, Astragalus lutosus foliage looks very similar to your plant.
http://gilliamcountygarden.blogspot.com/2011/08/astragalus-lutosus-in-garfield-county_05.html

The flowers and calyxes on A. lutosus aren't furry as in the yellow flowered plant you show.
Here's your plant of A. lutosus on the NARGS wiki.
http://nargs.org/nargswiki/tiki-browse_image.php?imageId=3115

Of course, a critical part of the ID will be the characteristics of the pods.
http://www.alplains.com/images/AstragLutos.jpg

Its dwarf, hairy, and yellow flowered, but the beautiful A. yunnanensis has a different overall look about it.
http://www.jansalpines.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=14788&g2_imageViewsIndex=1

The Flora of China summarizes the size and distribution of the genus, finding an ID will not be easy!
About 3,000 species: ca. 2,500 species in the Old World, represented in nearly all parts of the N Hemisphere, ca. 500 species in the New World; 401 species (221 endemic) in 59 sections (two endemic) in China.

[Lesley Cox]

You HAVE been busy Mark. The white-flowered lutosus is amazing. This, if I read rightly is Anne's own picture/plant? What incredible plants these pictured species are. So very beautiful.

The pictures of lutosus in the wild, if I didn't know better I would say were our own Swainsona novae-zelandiae (I think it's called something else now) but its flowers are brownish or in the best forms, pink. Very rare nowadays too.

[astragalus]

Mark, it is most definitely not Astragalus lutosus.  Since it hasn't produced any pods yet, which is often most critical to pea identification, I'm still at a loss.  Attached are two close-ups taken today by Jim Almond, who is currently a house guest.  The foliage appears to be much tighter than the Turkish astragalus although there are certain similarities.

[ranunculus]

The attachments appear to be missing, Anne.
Please pass on my very best wishes to Jim, hope his lecture to the Berkshire Chapter is a stunning success.
He will be SO enjoying your magnificent garden.

[astragalus]

Maggi, Mark et al -  One of the most distinctive characteristics of my mystery astragalus is the very inflated and furry calyx.  This is definitely not a characteristic of A. lutosus or A. yunnanensis.  I've grown A. lutosus - it is nothing like the mystery astragalus.  Astragalus pelliger carries its flowers in a  tight head.  The mystery astragalus absolutely does not.  This is not a characteristic that's apt to change depending on where it's grown any more than the pods will change.  If you look at the pictures attached I've tried to show both the calyxes and the habit of growth.  The foliage is quite tight, not sprawling.  The banner petals are the largest part of the flower (apart from the calyx) and the "wings" are tiny, just large enough to cover the keel.
Thank you everyone for your interest and information.  The list of "what it is not" is growing longer and longer.  I'm hoping it will set pods this year since it's blooming so beautifully.  It makes me very nervous to have only one plant.

[TheOnionMan]

Anne, good closeup photos for further diagnostics.  In my previous message, it was only the foliage that seemed close to A. lutosus, but clearly the flowers are very different; I was not suggesting that either lutosus or yunnanensis were an ID for your plant, just interesting diversions along the way of searching for an ID. The last item I posted, demonstrating the immensity of the genus as cited in Flora of China, indicates that finding an ID, without provenance of the plant's source, will be quite the challenge indeed, analagous to finding a needle in a haystack.  Regardless, it's a wonderful plant, even without a known name.

[Maggi Young]

Yup, great photos, Anne.... it really is a very furry little thing.  This is proving an intriguing hunt for an ID.

Let's not quit!

[Tim Ingram]

The great thing is I am discovering a whole lot of other wonderful species (ref. Mark's message) along the way! Would it be worth trying to hand pollinate Anne? I know most peas are self-fertile but this one looks as though it either needs another clone or a helping hand.

[Lesley Cox]

The calyces are as decorative as the flowers and the leaves themselves make the plant very fine, even if it had no flowers at all. I hope a name can be found. Was it from seed Anne from someone like Alplains?

I think we need a thread specifically for peas (Fabaceae) or do we already have one? (I fine the new Index a bit daunting. Scrub this. I must say that having followed a Forumist's tip and clicked Forum, I have no problem at all with the Index. Everything as before.

[astragalus]

Lesley, I'm fairly certain that it wasn't from seed because I only have one.  Usually I'd come across a label without plant saying "Astragalus sp", meaning the seedling died without my noticing.  I simply don't recall so I'm assuming it was a nameless gift from a nurseryman who dabbles in peas and knows that I love them.  Right now it has 14 flowers and is indeed sensational.

[Lesley Cox]

Well whoever he/she was, it was certainly given to the right person and the best possible home. I hope you can get some seed from it to distribute to other pea people.

[astragalus]

Doing lots of work every day on the natural crevices of the back of the cliff.  There are at least seventy plants there now yet it still looks quite bare.  Amazing how many plants it takes to fill a crevice garden.  My mystery astragalus looks like it might be making seed - here's hoping!

[Maggi Young]

My mystery astragalus looks like it might be making seed - here's hoping!

In case it proves to be Turkish, Anne, this link may be of use :

https://picasaweb.google.com/Philippe.Rabaute/DigitalFloraOfTurkey02

[astragalus]

For some unknown computer reason, I'm not able to open the website link you sent, Maggi.