Astragalus canadensis var. mortonii
Astragalus canadensis var. brevidens
Canada milk-vetch, Canadian milk-vetch, Morton's Canadian milkvetch, Morton's milkvetch
Canada milk-vetch, Canadian milk-vetch, pasture milkvetch, short tooth milk vetch, short-tooth Canadian milkvetch
unbranched, relatively slender, (25–)30–70(–90) cm.
branched, slender, sometimes decumbent and ascending, (10–)15–55(–75) cm.
(3–)6–19(–22.5) cm;
leaflets (9–)13–19(or 21), blades 10–45(–50) mm, thin.
5–15(–23) cm;
leaflets (7–)15–23(or 25), blades (5–)7–30(–40) mm, apex usually apiculate.
sometimes interrupted proximally, 2.5–12 × 2.7–3.5 cm, flowers (12.6–)13.2–16.5 mm.
(2.5–)4–9.5(–15) × 2.5–3.5 cm, flowers (11.7–)12.5–17(–17.5) mm.
rather slender, 6–22 cm.
stout, (4–)5–15(–20) cm, longer or shorter than leaves.
1.4–2 mm.
1.2–3.5(–4) mm.
calyx (6.5–)7.4–10.5(–11) mm, lobes (1.5–)2–4.4 mm, adaxial pair usually not much broader (though sometimes shorter) than the rest;
corolla greenish white or ochroleucous.
calyx (6.8–)7.1–10.5(–11) mm, lobes 1–2.5(–3) mm, adaxial pair nearly always broadly triangular or deltate (and mostly shorter) than the rest;
corolla ochroleucous, stramineous, or greenish white.
grooved dorsally, (9–)11–20 × 3–5 mm, beak (3–)3.5–5 mm, thinly strigose or glabrate;
septum (2–)2.5–3.4 mm wide.
grooved dorsally, (9–)10–15 × 2.9–4(–4.5) mm, beak 1.5–3 mm, mostly at least moderately strigulose;
septum 1.5–3 mm wide.
(16–)18–26.
(17 or)18–25(–28).
3.5–11(–14) mm, proximalmost persistent, not ruptured.
(3–)4–14 mm, proximalmost ruptured in some very robust specimens.
= 16.
= 16.
Astragalus canadensis var. mortonii
Astragalus canadensis var. brevidens
A. Gray (1864), under the discussion of Astragalus mortonii, cited both A. spicatus Nuttall ex Torrey & A. Gray (an illegitimate name, not Pallas 1773), and A. tristis Nuttall ex Torrey & A. Gray (see synonymy of var. brevidens), but considered ovary and legume pubescence as the primary distinguishing feature. This is commonly an elongate, slender plant with thin-textured foliage of forested regions within its range. The flowers vary in color from greenish white to cream, sometimes suffused with purple, but dry to cream or brownish. Flowers are ascending in bud but soon become spreading to declined, until in fruit they are erect-ascending.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Variety brevidens is the more xeric form of Astragalus canadensis. It is partly sympatric with var. mortonii, but var. mortonii is usually of higher, more mesic, wooded habitats. No single feature distinguishes vars. brevidens and mortonii. In Utah, var. brevidens intergrades with var. canadensis.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
