Astragalus anisus

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Gunnison milkvetch
Astragalus anisus - Jared Shorma 01.jpg
Status TNC G3.svg
Vulnerable  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Astragalus
Species:
A. anisus
Binomial name
Astragalus anisus

Astragalus anisus is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Gunnison milkvetch. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it is limited to the Gunnison Basin of Gunnison and Saguache Counties. [1]

This plant is a small perennial herb growing from a woody taproot. The caudex is clothed with the remains of previous seasons' leaves. The leaves are up to 7 centimeters long and are compound, made up of up to 15 leaflets. The herbage is coated in silvery hairs. The pinkish purple flowers occur in May and June. [2] They are up to 2 centimeters long. [1] They are bee-pollinated. The fruit is a rounded legume pod between 1 and 2 centimeters long. It is fleshy, hairy, and green, drying brown. It contains many smooth black seeds. [2] [3]

This species grows in sagebrush shrub and shrub-steppe habitat. The land is flat or shaped into rolling hills with clay soils. The elevation is 7000 to 10,000 feet. The plant is mainly found in the lower elevations of this range, in open habitat between large shrubs. The land is covered in shrubs with many herbs in their understory. It is dominated by Artemisia species, sagebrush. [2] Associated species include Phlox hoodii , Bouteloua gracilis , Poa fendleriana , and Stipa pinetorum . [1] The Gunnison Sage Grouse (Centrocercus minimus gunnisonii) is an important indicator species for the local habitat. The bird engages in lekking in the plant's habitat. [2]

Much of the territory has been used as rangeland, at times with heavy grazing of livestock. Sagebrush has been removed and the land reseeded with various non-native grasses such as Agropyron cristatum and Bromus inermis as well as clovers. The Blue Mesa Reservoir was also created when a dam was built in the basin. [2]

Rare in general, the plant is locally common and the populations are considered stable. [1] [2] Threats to the species include roads, off-road vehicles, introduced species, particularly Bromus tectorum , and fire suppression. [2]

Related Research Articles

Astragalus crotalariae is a species of milkvetch known by the common name Salton milkvetch. It is native to the Colorado Desert in California and other Sonoran Deserts in Arizona and northern Mexico. It grows in desert scrub habitat, including the Salton Sink in the Coachella Valley.

<i>Astragalus gibbsii</i> Species of legume

Astragalus gibbsii is a species of milkvetch known by the common name Gibbs's milkvetch. It is native to eastern California, the north-central Sierra Nevada, and western Nevada, where it grows in the pine forest habitat of the mountains and the sagebrush of the plateaus.

<i>Astragalus inversus</i> Species of legume

Astragalus inversus is a species of milkvetch known by the common name Susanville milkvetch.

<i>Astragalus jaegerianus</i> Species of legume

Astragalus jaegerianus is a rare species of milkvetch known by the common name Lane Mountain milkvetch. The plant was named for the biologist Edmund Jaeger, who first documented it in 1939.

Astragalus lentiginosus var. pseudiodanthus, synonym Astragalus pseudiodanthus, is a variety of the species Astragalus lentiginosus, a milkvetch. It is known by the common name Tonopah milkvetch. It is native to the Great Basin deserts of Nevada and eastern California, such as the Tonopah area, where it grows in sandy habitat.

<i>Astragalus purshii</i> Species of legume

Astragalus purshii is a species of milkvetch known by the common names woollypod milkvetch and Pursh's milkvetch.

Astragalus subvestitus is a species of milkvetch known by the common name Kern County milkvetch.

<i>Astragalus holmgreniorum</i> Species of endangered plant

Astragalus holmgreniorum is a rare species of milkvetch known by the common names Holmgren milk-vetch and paradox milk-vetch. It is native to a tiny section of desert shrub woodland on the border between Utah and Arizona, in the far northern Mojave Desert. There are six populations remaining. It is a federally listed endangered species.

<i>Penstemon penlandii</i> Species of flowering plant

Penstemon penlandii is a rare species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names Penland penstemon and Penland's beardtongue. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it is known only from a strip of land about five miles long in central Grand County. There are two occurrences totalling about 8600 individuals. This is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

<i>Hesperidanthus argillaceus</i> Species of flowering plant

Hesperidanthus argillaceus, syn. Schoenocrambe argillacea, is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family, known by the common names clay reed-mustard, Uinta Basin plainsmustard, and clay thelypody.

Astragalus linifolius is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Grand Junction milkvetch. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it is only found on the Uncompahgre Plateau in Delta, Mesa, and Montrose Counties. There are 21 occurrences, mostly in the general vicinity of Grand Junction.

<i>Astragalus microcymbus</i> Species of legume

Astragalus microcymbus is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name skiff milkvetch. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it is known from Gunnison County and the edge of Saguache County. It was discovered in 1945 by Rupert Barneby, a British botanist. Currently, skiff milkvetch is experiencing population declines and is listed as a Tier 1 species in the Rare Plant Addendum to the Colorado State Wildlife Action Plan.

Astragalus sinuatus is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Whited's milkvetch. It is endemic to Washington in the United States, where it is limited to one creek drainage on the western edge of the Columbia Basin. Its range measures about ten square miles in Chelan and Kittitas Counties in the central part of the state.

Astragalus tyghensis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Tygh Valley milkvetch. It is endemic to Oregon in the United States, where it is known only from the Tygh Valley of Wasco County.

Astragalus leptaleus is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name park milkvetch. It is native to the Rocky Mountains of the United States, where it occurs in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado.

<i>Astragalus molybdenus</i> Species of legume

Astragalus molybdenus is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names Leadville milkvetch and molybdenum milkvetch. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States. If the separate species Astragalus shultziorum and Astragalus lackschewitzii are included in A. molybdenum the range expands into Wyoming and Montana.

Astragalus proximus is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Aztec milkvetch. It is native to southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States.

<i>Astragalus ripleyi</i> Species of legume

Astragalus ripleyi is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Ripley's milkvetch. It is native to southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States.

Astragalus wetherillii is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Wetherill's milkvetch. It is native to Colorado and Utah in the United States.

<i>Astragalus lentiginosus <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> iodanthus</i> Species of legume

Astragalus lentiginosus var. iodanthus, synonym Astragalus iodanthus, is a variety of Astragalus lentiginosus, a flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is known by the common names Humboldt River milkvetch and violet milkvetch. It is native to the western United States, where its range includes California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah. It grows on hills and in valleys in barren sandy and volcanic soils in habitat such as sagebrush.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Astraglus anisus. [ permanent dead link ] NatureServe.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Decker, K. and D.G. Anderson. (2004, April 21). Astragalus anisus M.E. Jones (Gunnison milkvetch): A technical conservation assessment. [Online]. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region.
  3. "Colorado Rare Plant Guide". Archived from the original on 2022-09-03. Retrieved 2019-10-13.