Astragalus vaginatus Pall.

Plants 20-50 cm tall, covered with flexuous-curly, subap­pressed to ascending or even spreading hairs 0.2-1 mm. Stems solitary or several, erect, loosely to rather densely covered with white hairs up to 0.4 mm, at nodes also with black hairs. Leaves 4-10 cm; stipules 4-6 mm, loosely covered with white or mixed white and black hairs, distinctly connate behind stem; petiole 0.3-1.5 cm, like rachis rather densely covered with ± spreading hairs; leaflets in 6-9 pairs, narrowly elliptic, 8-22 × 1-6 mm, abaxially rather densely subappressed hairy, adaxially glabrous, or both surfaces with nearly spreading hairs up to 0.8(-1) mm, apex acute. Racemes loosely to rather densely many flowered, 3-6 cm, elongating in fruit up to 13 cm; pe­duncle 6-23 cm, loosely subappressed hairy; bracts 2-4 mm, white and black hairy. Calyx 5-6 mm, covered with subap­pressed to ± spreading predominantly white or mixed white and black hairs up to 0.5 mm; teeth 1.5-2 mm. Petals whitish, tip of keel violet; standard obovate, 11-14 × 6-8 mm, apex deeply incised; wings 9-11 mm, limbs deeply bilobed; keel 7-9 mm. Legumes pendulous, with a stipe 6-9 mm, narrowly oblong, 12-18 mm, 4-5 mm high and 2.5-3 mm wide, long acuminate at base, shortly acuminate at apex into a hooked beak ca. 2 mm, strongly keeled ventrally, rounded dorsally, 2-locular; valves glabrous.