Vicia leucophaea Greene
Family: Fabaceae
Vernacular Name: Mogollon Mountain vetch
Description: An herb with tendrils, pinnately compound leaves, white to cream
papilionoid corolla 7-9 mm long, and appressed-villous legume
25-40 mm long. The stylar hairs are medial, encircling the style.
Distribution: Southwestern New Mexico and southeastern
Arizona to southern Durango.
Plants Seen or Cited:
MEXICO, CHIHUAHUA, Sierra Madre,
Pringle 1230 (F, MEXU, NY, POM, US, VT - cited in Gunn
1979; DURANGO, Otinapa, Palmer 378 (F, GH, MO, NAQ, NY,
UC, US - cited in Gunn 1979); MPIO. SUCHÍL, Reserva de
la Biosfera La Michilia, Reserva de la Biosfera La Michilia, Arroyo
Los Indios, 22o28'44"N, 104o07'02"W, 19 Sep 1985, J.
Alvarado 21 (CIIDIR); Arroyo El Temascal (viejo), 23o23'10"N,
104o15'38"W, 30 Sep 1985, J Alvarado 114 (CIIDIR);
SONORA, burned over pineland, White 3208 (ARIZ, MICH -
cited in Gunn 1979).
UNITED STATES, ARIZONA, COCHISE CO., Chiricahua
Mts., Barfoot Park, 6 Sep 1906, J. C. Blumer 1358 (NMC);
PIMA CO., Santa Catalina Mts., 17 Jun 1988, Porter & Henze
5475 (UNM); [probably Pima Co. - not given] Santa Rita Mts.,
date not recorded, O. M. Clark 12263 (UNM);
NEW MEXICO, CATRON CO., Mogollon Mts., on Mogollon Creek, 18 Jul 1903, O.
B. Metcalfe 257 (NMC); Mogollon Mts., on or near the W Fork
of the Gila, 5 Aug 1903, O. B. Metcalfe s.n. (NMC); Mogollon
Mts., Middle Fork of the Gila, 5 Aug 1900, E. O. Wooton s.n.
(NMC); HIDALGO CO., Animas Mts., Upper Indian Canyon, 22 Jul 1975,
W. Wagner 1234 (UNM); SOCORRO CO., San Mateo Mts., Forest
Rd 330, T6S R6W S15 sw, 27 Aug 1978, W. H. Moir & E. L.
Fitzhugh 469 (NMC).
Habitat: Pine forests (Kearney and Peebles 1969); Wooded
slopes (Martin and Hutchins 1980); Cool slopes, burned over pineland
(from specimen citations in Gunn 1979); Bosque de Quercus -
Pinus (Alvaredo 21, 114); Dry hills (Metcalfe s.n.);
Aspect - SSE, concave upper slope, overstory - ponderosa pine,
occasional Pseudotsuga menziesii, understory dominants
- Muhlenbergia virescens, Bromus frondosus, Poa fendleri, Festuca
arizonica (Moir & FItzhugh 469);
Comments: Martin and Hutchins (1980) map the species from
Catron and Grant counties, New Mexico. Kearney and Peebles (1969)
note the species to occur in Arizona from "southern Apache
County to Cochise, Santa Cruz, and Pima counties, where it occurs
in pine forests. Gunn (1979) records the species from those states
and cites records from Chihuahua, Sonora and Durango. None of
these authors indicate rarity of the species, or indicate anything
unique and rare about habitat.
Status: A Sierra Madrean species that comes into the United
States where that floristic influence is strong. There is no
indication of rarity or of special nature of habitat. It is a
peripheral that enters southwestern New Mexico.
Important Literature:
Kearney, T.H., and R.H. Peebles. 1969. Arizona Flora, 2nd
ed. (with supplement by J.T. Howell, Elizabeth McClintock, et
al.). Univ. California Press, Berkeley. 1085 pp.
Gunn, C.R. 1979. Genus Vicia with notes about tribe Vicieae
(Fabaceae) in Mexico and Central America. USDA Tech. Bull. 1601,
U.S. Govt. Print. Office. 41 pp.
Martin, W.C., and C.R. Hutchins. 1980. A Flora of New Mexico,
vol. 1. J. Cramer, Vaduz. 1276 pp.
Information Compiled By: Richard Spellenberg, 1998
