Astragalus wuqiaensis (Fabaceae, Papilionoideae, Astragaleae), a new species from Xinjiang, China Author Zeng, Si-Wei https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5472-3004 College of Life Sciences and technology, Tarim University, Aral, 843300, China & State Key Laboratory Incubation Base for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resource in Tarim Basin, Aral, 843300, China Author Jiang, Kai-Wen 0000-0002-5917-1846 Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Plant Conservation and Utilization in Southern China, Guangzhou 510650, China & South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, China & Ningbo Botanical Garden, Ningbo 315201, China Author Luo, Cheng-Wen https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2560-2147 College of Life Sciences and technology, Tarim University, Aral, 843300, China & State Key Laboratory Incubation Base for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resource in Tarim Basin, Aral, 843300, China Author Li, Pan 0000-0002-9407-7740 Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Environment on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Ministry of Education, School of Ecology and Environment, Xizang University, Lhasa, China Author Yang, Zhao-Ping 0000-0001-5096-1051 College of Life Sciences and technology, Tarim University, Aral, 843300, China & State Key Laboratory Incubation Base for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resource in Tarim Basin, Aral, 843300, China text PhytoKeys 2026 2026-04-01 272 133 143 journal article 314718 10.3897/phytokeys.272.186990 f8f510c6-807a-45ab-a73a-228dc842be54

Table 2. Main morphological differences among Astragalus wuqiaensis, Astragalus hoffmeisteri, and Astragalus zadaensis.

Characters	A. wuqiaensis sp. nov.	A. hoffmeisteri	A. zadaensis
Stem	Erect, 50–100 cm tall, forming dense clumps, densely pubescent at base, glabrescent toward apex.	Erect, up to 100 cm tall, flexuous, young shoots finely pubescent.	Erect, 30–40 cm tall, flexuous.
Stipule	ovate to triangular, 3–5 mm long, free, densely pubescent.	obliquely cordate-ovate, 3–13 mm long, connate at base, finely pubescent.	triangular, 6–7 mm long, free, sparsely white-ciliate.
leaflet	ovate to elliptic, 2–8 mm × 2–5 mm, apex emarginate with a short mucro, adaxial surface glabrous, abaxial surface and margin with white short-appressed hairs.	obovate, 4.5–11 mm × 2–8 mm, apex emarginate, both surfaces glabrous or sometimes sparsely pubescent along midvein.	obovate, 3–6 mm × 1.6–3 mm, apex emarginate, glabrous above, sparsely white appressed-hairy along the midvein beneath.
Calyx	tubular-campanulate, 6–7 mm long, densely pubescent.	tubular-campanulate, 4–5 mm long, glabrous to subglabrous.	campanulate, 2.5–3 mm long, subglabrous.
Corolla	yellow, 17–20 mm long.	pale purplish-red, 14 mm long.	yellow, 9–10 mm long.
Legume	1 - locular, 30–40 mm × 10 mm, fusiform, slightly inflated.	1 - locular, 11–12 mm × 4–8 mm, oblong, flattened.	1 - locular, 20 mm × 4–5 mm, narrowly elliptic, slightly inflated.