(Maydell's oxytrope)
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Photo of Oxytropis maydelliana by Jacob Frank
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Oxytropis maydelliana is a tufted alpine herb in the pea family (Fabaceae) with a compact head of yellow flowers. Plants grow up to 25 cm high from a branching caudex. Leaves are mainly basal, 3-10 cm long,
pinnate, with 11-21
elliptic leaflets. The leaflets are
entire-margined. The caudex is covered in reddish brown stipules, densely hairy. Flowering stems are leaf-less, two or more per plant, bearing 5-9 flowers in a compact
raceme. The
calyx has dense black (or white) hairs, non-
glandular. The flowers have the typical
bilateral symmetry of the pea family, the lowermost petal (the
keel) abruptly pointed. Petals are yellow or cream, ca. 1.5 cm long. The fruit is a pod with bent beak, 1.5-2 cm long, sessile, covered in long hairs. Like other members of the pea family,
O. maydelliana has
root nodules containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which allows it to colonize nutrient-poor soils.
O. maydelliana is distinguished from other members of its genus by the conspicuous persistent reddish stipules at the base of the plant, and its yellow flowers.
Oxytropis maydelliana is perennial, flowering in mid-summer and forming fruits in the fall.
This species is
monoecious with bisexual flowers.
Oxytropis is typically pollinated by bees, but the pollination and dispersal biology of this particular species has not been studied. The fruits are pods. Plants have
root nodules containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria (
Rhizobium), allowing plants to colonize nutrient-poor soils.
Many species of Oxytropis produce the toxin swainsonine, which is harmful if consumed in large quantities. The root of O. maydelliana was traditionally eaten in Nunavut, either raw or fried in seal oil (Aiken et al. 2003).
Disclaimer for Known Uses.
Oxytropis maydelliana is an amphi-Beringian species with an arctic-alpine distribution, ranging from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago to Kamchatka, not reaching south of northern British Columbia or Quebec. It is broadly distributed in the mountains of Alaska, though does not reach Southeast Alaska or the Aleutian Islands. Within Denali, O. maydelliana occurs north of the Alaska Range, with a handful of stations near Broad Pass to the south.
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right, depicting recent Denali data.
Oxytropis maydelliana occurs in the alpine and subalpine of Denali, most common at 900-1100 meters. It occurs on all aspects, but is more common on east/west-facing aspects. This species grows on a range of slopes, most commonly on moderate slopes (12-20) and very steep (>28).
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right. For more on how to interpret these figures, visit Understanding Data Presented.
Oxytropis maydelliana prefers dry tundra, alpine heaths, stony slopes and ridges.
Well-drained dry to moist sites.
