| Applegate's milkvetch | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Astragalus |
| Species: | A. applegatei |
| Binomial name | |
| Astragalus applegatei | |
| Synonyms | |
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Astragalus applegatei is a rare species of milkvetch known by the common name Applegate's milkvetch. [2] Its scientific name is also spelt Astragalus applegatii. [3] It is endemic to Klamath County, Oregon, where it is known from three populations, one of which is made up of only three plants. [2] Much of the remaining habitat is seriously threatened by development, introduced plant species, and other forces. [2] This is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
The plant is a perennial herb with clustered or spreading prostrate stems growing from a taproot. It may form mats nearly a metre wide and up to 40 cm tall. The leaves are up to 8 cm long and are each made up of several pairs of leaflets 1 or 2 cm long. The inflorescence is a raceme of nodding flowers. The flower has a cuplike, toothed calyx of sepals coated in black hairs. The corolla is whitish to lavender with purple tips on the petals. The fruit is a purple-mottled legume pod roughly 1 cm long. [4]
The native habitat of the plant is a seasonally wet floodplain with alkali soils, part of the Klamath Basin. [1]
The largest of the three populations is on land which is partially owned and protected by The Nature Conservancy, but the other part is vulnerable to development. [2] The second and third populations are very small and may not survive as they become inbred. [2] There was once a fourth population, but it was destroyed when its habitat was made into a grocery store and a car dealership. [2]
