Astragalus australis

Astragalus australis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Indian milkvetch. It is native to much of the Northern Hemisphere, including northern North America, Europe, and temperate Asia.[1]

Indian milkvetch

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Astragalus
Species:
A. australis
Binomial name
Astragalus australis
Synonyms

Astragalus aboriginum
Astragalus forwoodii
Astragalus linearis
Astragalus richardsonii
Astragalus scrupulicola

Description

This plant produces spreading and erect stems up to 25 centimeters tall from a caudex. The stems have a dense coat of hairs and have leaves alternately arranged. Each leaf is up to 3 to 4 centimeters long and is made up of leaflets measuring a few millimeters in length. The leaflets are covered in ashy gray hairs. The inflorescence is a raceme of up to 15 flowers with petals that are greenish, white, purplish, or pinkish with green veins and purple tips. The fruit is a hairless legume pod that matures deep red in color and measures up to 2.6 centimeters in length. It contains up to 12 seeds.[2][3]

Ecology

This plant grows as far north as Banks Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It grows at the seaside, often on gravelly ridges.[2]

This plant was used for food by the Cree and Stone peoples of North America.[2]

Varieties of this plant include the rare var. olympicus, Cotton's milkvetch, which is endemic to the Olympic Mountains of Washington in the United States.[4] It grows on subalpine mountain ridges with sparse vegetation.[5]

References
  1. "Astragalus australis". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  2. Gillett, J. M., et al. (1999 onwards). Astragalus australis. Archived 13 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine Fabaceae of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 15 November 2000
  3. https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ASAU4
  4. var. olympicus. Archived 26 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation.
  5. Kaye, T. N. (1999). From flowering to dispersal: reproductive ecology of an endemic plant, Astragalus australis var. olympicus (Fabaceae). Am J Bot 86 1248-56.
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