Semi-desert. Shrublands, sand. Spring, summer.
Five Mile Canyon, east of Gallup, New Mexico, May 3, 2015.

Sophora nuttalliana spreads in wide patches from deep-set rhizomes. Individual plants grow to 12 inches tall with elongated stems of white flowers encased in blue calyces. The plant is a surprising find in its often barren surroundings of dry gravels and sands.

According to Intermountain Flora, "sophora" is from the Arabic "sofera", a plant with yellow flowers.  Linnaeus, who named this genus in 1753, "arbitrarily" used this name. "Nuttalliana" is for the eminent 19th century botanist, Thomas Nuttall. (Click for more biographical information about Nuttall.) 

Nuttall was the first to collect this plant for science in 1811 in South Dakota on "elevated plains of the Missouri near the confluence of White river". Nuttall named the plant Sophora sericea in his 1818 Genera of North American Plants. (Click the title to read.)  Billie Turner renamed the plant in Nuttall's honor in 1956.

Sophora nuttalliana (Nuttall's Sophora)
Fabaceae (Pea Family)

Semi-desert. Shrublands, sand. Spring, summer.
Five Mile Canyon, east of Gallup, New Mexico, May 3, 2015.

The very large upright banner is pleated and delicately arched back. You can see that what at first appears to be white and blue flowers is really a combination of the white flower petals and the blue-gray of the calyx.

Sophora nuttalliana (Nuttall's Sophora)
Fabaceae (Pea Family)

Semi-desert. Shrublands, sand. Spring, summer.
Five Mile Canyon, east of Gallup, New Mexico, May 3, 2015.

Leaflets are strigose (short, stiffly hairy) on the lower side and glabrous (not hairy) on the upper side, but because the leaflets are commonly folded, the lower side hairs add a glistening outline. The shape and number of leaflets often lead people to thinking this plant is a species of Astragalus.