More or less erect plant, relying on nearby plants for support, often a bushy growth habit. Silvery foliage, covered with silky hairs. Leaves pinnately divided into up to 13 leaflets, leaflets elliptical in shape, typically 2 cm long and 7 mm wide. Flowers are pink to carmine coloured, flowers to 17 mm long, flowers grow in a spike like raceme, inflorescence typically 6 cm long.
Can be distinguished from the other Hedysarum that grows in Saskatchewan, H. alpinum, by its silvery foliage, and linear calyx lobes (shown in bottom photograph on this page). The foliage of H. alpinum is green, and its calyx lobes are unequal in length and more triangular in shape.
Habitat is prairie hillsides, and the sides of steep coulees.
Height listed in Flora of Alberta varying from 20 to 60 cm, tallest plants in above photos were 41 cm tall.
Took the above photos June 20th on the hillsides of the Souris River Valley, Buffalo Grass Eco Reserve, 200 km southeast of Regina, SK, and June 24th on the hillsides of the Qu' Appelle River Valley, about 30 km north of our home in Regina, SK.