BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Oxytropis campestris var. columbiana | Columbia River Crazyweed 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Columbia River crazyweed is a native perennial forb with a heavy taproot
and branched rootstocks.  It has tufted basal leaves and grows 4 to 12
inches (10-30 cm) tall.  The odd-pinnate leaves are 3 to 8 inches (8-20
cm) long.  The flowers are zygomorphic and have a white corolla and a
strongly purple-spotted keel.  The pod is 0.5 to 1.5 inches (1-3 cm)
long.  There is a high root to shoot ratio [5,7,14,15].  The plant may
fix nitrogen, but this has not been reported in the literature [4].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Columbia River crazyweed reproduces by seed produced by pollination and
fertilization [15].  It is pollinated by bumblebee species with long
tongues.  No fruit was produced on flowers that were enclosed, but there
was 96 percent fruit set on flowers under open pollination [1].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Columbia River crazyweed grows on rocky, gravelly, open or partially
shaded areas in valleys.  It has been reported at 2,900 to 3,500 feet
(880-1,050 m) in northwestern Montana [14].  

Yellow locoweed (Oxytropis campestris) grows best in sandy loam to clay
loam soils.  It is tolerant of moderately saline soils and low nutrient
conditons but does not tolerate water-saturated soils such as heavy
clay.  It is drought tolerant but not at all tolerant of excessive shade
[15].  Yellow locoweed grows in dry meadows and on debris accumulations,
talus and scree slopes, boulder fell fields, and in areas with little
soil and sparse vegetative cover [14].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Yellow locoweed (O. campestris) was a pioneer on alkaline glacial
outwash in Alsaka and in Alberta on a coal mine spoil exposed to severe
wind and drought [15].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Columbia River crazyweed flowers from late June to early August [1].

Related categories for Species: Oxytropis campestris var. columbiana | Columbia River Crazyweed