Astragalus columbianus |
Astragalus alpinus |
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Columbian milk-vetch |
alpine milk-vetch, purple milk-vetch |
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Habit | Silky but greenish perennial with widespread rhizomes, the stems slender, ascending to erect, 5-20 cm. long. | |
Leaves | Leaves alternate, pinnate, 5-20 cm. long; stipules 1-3 mm. long, deltoid, mostly fused; leaflets 13-23, ovate to oblong-elliptic, 5-15 mm. long; peduncles equaling or exceeding the leaves. |
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Flowers | Racemes closely 10- to 30-flowered, elongate, lax; pedicles about 1 mm. long; flowers 7-12 mm long, pale lilac to purplish, the keel darkest in color, equalling the banner and exceeding the wings; calyx black-hairy, 3-4.5 mm. long, the teeth half the length of the tube. |
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Fruits | Pod pendulous, with a stipe about equal to the calyx teeth, the body black-hairy, narrowly ellipsoid, 8-12 mm. long, cordate-triangular in cross-section, the lower suture intruded to form a nearly complete partition. |
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Astragalus columbianus |
Astragalus alpinus |
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Flowering time | April-May | June-August |
Habitat | Dry, open areas in shrub-steppe. | Open slopes and rocky areas from upper montane to alpine. |
Distribution | Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington, where endemic to south-central Washington.
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Occurring east of the Cascades crest in the north-central region of Washington; Alaska to northeastern Oregon and northeastern Nevada, east to the Rocky Mountains; circumboreal.
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Origin | Native | Native |
Conservation status | Sensitive in Washington (WANHP) | Not of concern |
Sibling taxa | ||
Subordinate taxa | ||
Web links |
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