Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Drummond's Milkvetch
Astragalus drummondii
Pea family (Fabaceae)

Astragalus is the largest of wildflowers in the western United States and Drummond's Milkvetch (Astragalus drummondii) is just one of the many Astragalus found in the Colorado Rockies region. Although the flowers are what draw our attention to the beautiful plants of this , it is the pods that are needed to determine the exact species. Distinguishing individual species of Astragalus is a challenging and rewarding experience. Alkaloids in milkvetches produce crazed behavior in livestock, and hence they are also commonly known as "locoweed."


©2009 Matt Lavin

Description

Bushy , 16-36" tall, with woolly foliage giving the plant a gray-green color. White-cream drooping flowers are arranged in dense, . compound leaves are , gray-green with 13-31 . with fine hairs on underside. Stems thick and hairy. Flowers give rise to hairless pods, 2/3 to 1 1/2" long, straight or curved.

Field Marks

White, pea-like flower clusters; gray-green compound leaves.

© Al Schneider

An entire leaf has smooth edges. Not toothed or lobed.

genus -- A subdivision of a botanical Family in which all members have a significant number of similar characteristics.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.

pinnate -- A compound leaf with two rows of leaflets.

elongate -- long and thin, slender.

A raceme is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along its axis.

alternate -- leaves alternate along the main stem and are attached singly.

leaflets -- Each little leaf-like thing in a compound leaf is a leaflet.

oblong -- Having an elongated form with somewhat parallel sides. Rectangular.