Astragalus danicus

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Astragalus danicus
Astragalus danicus - aas-hundihammas.jpg
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. danicus
Binomial name
Astragalus danicus
Retz. [1]
Synonyms [1]

Astragalus hypoglottissensu auct.

Astragalus danicus, known as purple milk-vetch, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae (legumes), which is native to Europe. [3]

Contents

Description

A close-up of the flower, taken near Peterborough in the United Kingdom in 2018 Astragalus danicus in Cambridgeshire, 2018, close-up flower.jpg
A close-up of the flower, taken near Peterborough in the United Kingdom in 2018

Astragalus danicus is a perennial herb. It grows to about 30 cm (12 in) tall with pinnate 3–7 cm compound leaves having 13–27 5-12mm long hairy leaflets. Its flowers are usually in shades of blue and purple, rarely white, 15–18 mm (0.6–0.7 in) long and clustered in short, compact racemes, looking like a single composite flower. They are followed by dark brown, fruit pods 7–9 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long, with white hairs. [4] There is some evidence that seeds persist in the soil seed bank, but seed dispersal is poor (generally only 50 cm). [5] [6] [7]

Habitat and distribution

Astragalus danicus ranges across Europe from Ireland and subarctic Russia south to the Alps and central Ukraine. [3]

It grows on short, unimproved and dry grassland, usually over limestone or chalk, but can also be found on sand dunes, sandstone sea cliffs, machair and over mica-schist. Rarely it has been found on woodland rides and firing ranges. It grows to an altitude of just 710m. It is unable to compete with taller plants and this seems to be the main reason it is not found in habitats with acidic or fertilised soils. [8] [5] [6]

Ecology

Astragalus danicus flowers provide nectar and are visited by many insects. This species is considered to be mainly pollinated by bees. [9]

In the UK the grasslands where A. danicus is found are predominantly Festuca , Bromopsis and Brachypodium grasslands. [5]

The species is non-toxic and its common name in English comes from the popular belief in history that cows fed with purple milk-vetch yielded more milk. [5]

Conservation

In the United Kingdom Astragalus danicus has vulnerable status and has been a Biodiversity Action Plan priority species since 2007. [5]

There Astragalus danicus has declined since the start of the enclosure farming system in the 18th century, however declines accelerated in some parts of its range since the 1930s, due to agricultural improvement and in some cases due to land going without grazing (the species can only grow in short vegetation). [8] [5]

Herbal medicine

Astragalus danicus has been indicated to have a number of beneficial medicinal effects, particularly in combatting high blood pressure, however health supplements labelled as 'milk-vetch' may contain extracts from a different species in the genus Astragalus . [10] Some other species in the genus Astragalus are known to be toxic to animals and referred to in the US as 'locoweed'. [11]

Etymology

There are a few explanations for the meaning of the genus name Astragalus. Some say it comes from the Ancient Greek 'astragalos' meaning neck vertebra or ankle joint, either because the shape of the flower clusters is similar to a vertebra or because the shape of the seeds is similar to an ankle bone. [12] [13] Others say that 'astragalus' is an amalgamation of the Ancient Greek words 'aster' and 'gala' meaning 'star' and 'milk' respectively. [14] The species epithet danicus is Latin for 'Danish', presumably it was first identified in Denmark. [15] The English common name comes from the popular belief in history that cows fed with purple milk-vetch yielded more milk. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Lathraea</i> Genus of flowering plants in the broomrape family

Lathraea (toothwort) is a small genus of five to seven species of flowering plants, native to temperate Europe and Asia. They are parasitic plants on the roots of other plants, and are completely lacking chlorophyll. They are classified in the family Orobanchaceae.

<i>Centaurea scabiosa</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Centaurea scabiosa, or greater knapweed, is a perennial plant of the genus Centaurea. It is native to Europe and bears purple flower heads.

<i>Rhinanthus minor</i> Species of flowering plant in the broomrape family Orobanchaceae

Rhinanthus minor, known as yellow rattle, is a herbaceous wildflower in the genus Rhinanthus in the family Orobanchaceae. It has circumpolar distribution in Europe, Russia, western Asia, and northern North America. An annual plant, yellow rattle grows up to 10–50 centimetres (3.9–19.7 in) tall, with upright stems and opposite, simple leaves. The fruit is a dry capsule, with loose, rattling seeds.

<i>Astragalus</i> (plant) Genus of legumes

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.

<i>Vicia cracca</i> Species of legume

Vicia cracca, is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia. It occurs on other continents as an introduced species, including North America, where it is a common weed. It often occurs in disturbed habitats, including old fields and roadside ditches.

<i>Omphalodes verna</i> Species of flowering plant

Omphalodes verna, the creeping navelwort or blue-eyed-Mary, is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant in the genus Omphalodes belonging to the family Boraginaceae.

<i>Vicia sepium</i> Species of legume

Vicia sepium or bush vetch is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. A nitrogen-fixing, perennial, leguminous climbing plant that grows in hedgerows, grasslands, the edges of woodland, roadsides and rough ground. It occurs in western Europe, Crimea of Ukraine, Russia including Siberia, Caucasus and Central Asia. It can also be found in eastern Canada, north-eastern states of the USA and, where suitable habitat occurs, in Greenland. It is native to, and has been recorded in, almost all parts of Britain, Ireland and associated islands.

<i>Vicia sylvatica</i> Species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae

Vicia sylvatica, known as wood vetch, is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus.

NVC community CG3 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of four communities of rank, tussocky grassland associated with low levels of grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group.

NVC community CG4 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of four communities of rank, tussocky grassland associated with low levels of grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group.

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

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.

<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.

<i>Oenanthe pimpinelloides</i> Species of flowering plant

Oenanthe pimpinelloides is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common name corky-fruited water-dropwort. It is a plant of damp or dry grassland and more ruderal tall herb communities.

<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>Scilla bifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Scilla bifolia, the alpine squill or two-leaf squill, is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from an underground bulb, belonging to the genus Scilla of the family Asparagaceae.

<i>Peucedanum verticillare</i> Species of flowering plant

Peucedanum verticillare, common name giant hog fennel or milk parsley, is a herbaceous plant in the genus Peucedanum of the family Apiaceae.

<i>Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum</i> Species of flowering plant in the borage family Boraginaceae

Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum is a synonym for Aegonychon purpurocaeruleum (L.) Holub, also known as the purple gromwell, This plant is a herbaceous perennial rhizomatous flowering plant and it belongs to the family Boraginaceae.

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

Astragalus drummondii is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Drummond's milkvetch. The botanist Thomas Drummond first identified the plant during his travels in North America from 1825 to 1835, the year of his death. Astragalus drummondii is one of many plants named after him. Upon the return of samples collected by Drummond to England, his findings were published in Sir William Hooker’s Flora Boreali-Americana in 1840.

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

Astragalus crassicarpus, known as ground plum or buffalo plum, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae, native to North America. It was described in 1813. The fruit is edible and was used by Native Americans as food and horse medicine. It is a host of afranius duskywing larvae. It is also known as groundplum milkvetch and pomme de prairie.

<i>Hedbergia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the broomrape family

Hedbergia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants, initially classified in Scrophulariaceae, and now within the broomrape family Orobanchaceae. It contains a unique species, Hedbergia abyssinica. It is an afromontane genus, widespread in grasslands and scrubs of the mountains of tropical Africa, and known from Ethiopia, Zaire, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Nigeria, and Cameroons.

References

  1. 1 2 "Astragalus danicus", The Plant List, retrieved 2016-08-03
  2. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. 1 2 Tutin, T.G. (1968), Tutin, T.G.; Heywood, V.H.; Burges, N.A.; Valentine, D.H.; Walters, S.M. & Webb, D.A. (eds.), Flora Europaea, Volume 2: Rosaceae to Umbelliferae, Cambridge University Press, p. 114, ISBN   978-0-521-06662-4
  4. Stace, Clive (2010), New Flora of the British Isles (3rd ed.), Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 150–151, ISBN   978-0-521-70772-5
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BSBI Species Accounts Archive
  6. 1 2 Plant Life International - Species Fact Sheet
  7. Becker, Thomas (2010). "Explaining Rarity of the Dry Grassland Perennial Astragalus exscapus". Folia Geobotanica. 45 (3): 303–321. Bibcode:2010FolGe..45..303B. doi: 10.1007/s12224-010-9068-3 . JSTOR   23064973. S2CID   31913285.
  8. 1 2 Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora
  9. Becker, Thomas (2010). "Explaining Rarity of the Dry Grassland Perennial Astragalus exscapus". Folia Geobotanica. 45 (3): 303–321. Bibcode:2010FolGe..45..303B. doi: 10.1007/s12224-010-9068-3 . JSTOR   23064973. S2CID   31913285.
  10. Bratkov, V. M.; Shkondrov, A. M.; Zdraveva, P. K.; Krasteva, I. N. (2016). "Flavonoids from the Genus Astragalus: Phytochemistry and Biological Activity". Pharmacognosy Reviews. 10 (19): 11–32. doi: 10.4103/0973-7847.176550 . PMC   4791984 . PMID   27041870.
  11. USDA Poisonous Plant Research
  12. Merriam Webster Dictionary - Astragalus
  13. Flora of Wisconsin
  14. Neill, Amanda (2005). A Dictionary of Common Wildflowers of Texas & the Southern Great Plains. TCU Press. ISBN   9780875653099.
  15. Latin Dictionary - danicus