Astragalus is a large genus of over 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae and the subfamily Faboideae. It is the largest genus of plants in terms of described species. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names include milkvetch, locoweed and goat's-thorn. Some pale-flowered vetches are similar in appearance, but they are more vine-like than Astragalus.
Astragalus trichopodus is a species of legume known by the common name Santa Barbara milk vetch. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in several types of open habitat, including in the Transverse Ranges and Mojave Desert.
Astragalus albens is a species of milkvetch known by the common names Cushenbury milkvetch and silvery-white milkvetch.
Astragalus deanei is a rare species of milkvetch known by the common name Dean's milkvetch, or Deane's milkvetch. It is endemic to southern San Diego County, California, where it grows on the slopes of the Peninsular Ranges between El Cajon and Tecate.
Astragalus inversus is a species of milkvetch known by the common name Susanville milkvetch.
Astragalus kentrophyta is a species of milkvetch known by the common name spiny milkvetch. It is native to western North America from central to west Canada, to California, to New Mexico. It grows in rocky mountainous areas, such as the Sierra Nevada, and on plateaus.
Astragalus tener is a species of milkvetch known by the common name alkali milkvetch. It is endemic to California, where it grows in both coastal and inland areas such as the Central Valley, especially in moist places.
Astragalus zionis is a species of legume known by the common name Zion milkvetch. It is one of the earliest flowers to bloom in Zion canyon. First described by botanist Marcus E. Jones in 1895, the species has also been placed in the defunct genus Xylophacos under the name Xylophacos zionis. The variety Astragalus zionis var. vigulus, the guard milkvetch, was described by Stanley Welsh in 1993.
Astragalus osterhoutii, or the Osterhout milkvetch or Kremmling milkvetch, is an endangered species of milkvetch, discovered and collected in 1905 at Sulfur Spring in Grand County Colorado by Colorado botanist George Everett Osterhout for which the plant was named. It is found in the U.S. state of Colorado, in a 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) radius near the town of Kremmling.
Astragalus iselyi is a rare species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Isely's milkvetch. It is endemic to Utah in the United States.
Astragalus missouriensis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Missouri milkvetch. It is native to central North America, where it is common and widespread.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
Hazel Marguerite Schmoll (1890–1990) was an American botanist, and the first to conduct a systematic study of plant life in southwestern Colorado. She was also the first woman to earn a doctorate in botany from the University of Chicago. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1985.
