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.
The NatureServe conservation status system, maintained and presented by NatureServe in cooperation with the Natural Heritage Network, was developed in the United States in the 1980s by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) as a means for ranking or categorizing the relative imperilment of species of plants, animals, or other organisms, as well as natural ecological communities, on the global, national or subnational levels. These designations are also referred to as NatureServe ranks, NatureServe statuses, or Natural Heritage ranks. While the Nature Conservancy is no longer substantially involved in the maintenance of these ranks, the name TNC ranks is still sometimes encountered for them.
The conservation status of a group of organisms indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation status: not simply the number of individuals remaining, but the overall increase or decrease in the population over time, breeding success rates, and known threats. Various systems of conservation status exist and are in use at international, multi-country, national and local levels as well as for consumer use.
SRANK or Subnational Rank seeks to ascertain the rarity of species within subnational boundaries.
The Kiavah Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area located in the Mojave Desert, Scodie Mountains, and southern Sierra Nevada in Kern County, California, United States. California State Route 178 connects the town of Lake Isabella to State Highway 14 in the east, crossing Walker Pass at the north boundary of the wilderness.
Astragalus brauntonii is a rare species of milkvetch known by the common name Braunton's milkvetch. It is endemic to California, where it is known from fewer than 20 extant occurrences in the hills and mountains surrounding the Los Angeles Basin in Southern California. This is a federally listed endangered species in the United States.
Astragalus pycnostachyus is a species of milkvetch known by the common name marsh milkvetch. It is endemic to the coastline of California, where it grows in wet saline habitat such as marshes.
Astragalus applegatei is a rare species of milkvetch known by the common name Applegate's milkvetch. It is endemic to Klamath County, Oregon, where it is known from three populations, one of which is made up of only three plants. Much of the remaining habitat is seriously threatened by development, introduced plant species, and other forces. This is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Astragalus cremnophylax is a rare species of milkvetch known by the common names sentry milkvetch and cliff milkvetch. It is endemic to Arizona, where the three varieties grow in three separate locations. The rarest variety, var. cremnophylax, is a federally listed endangered species which grows only on the rim of the Grand Canyon. The two other varieties are known from the Buckskin Mountains and Marble Canyon.
Astragalus desereticus is a rare species of milkvetch known by the common name Deseret milkvetch. It is endemic to Utah County, Utah, where it is known from only one population. It was thought to be extinct until 1981 when this population was discovered. The population contains 5,000 to 10,000 plants on an area of land covering less than 300 acres. It is vulnerable to damage from grazing cattle, which eat the plant and trample the soil, and from development and erosion. This is a federally listed threatened species.
Astragalus phoenix is a rare species of milkvetch known by the common name Ash Meadows milkvetch. It is endemic to Nye County, in southwestern Nevada.
Astragalus cicer, the chickpea milkvetch, chick-pea milk-vetch or cicer milkvetch, is a perennial flowering plant native to Eastern Europe, popularized and subsequently transported to areas in Southern Europe, North America, and South America. Cicer milkvetch exhibits legume-like qualities; the plant produces pods which harbor its seeds. Its flowers are usually of pale yellow tint, and as such, attract bumble or European honey bees for pollination. Growth often exceeds 0.6 meters, up to a height of 1 meter in length.
Astragalus montii is a rare species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name heliotrope milkvetch. It is endemic to Utah in the United States, where there are only three known populations. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States. This species is often treated as a variety of Astragalus limnocharis.
Astragalus barrii is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Barr's milkvetch. It is native to the United States, where it is a "regional endemic", occurring in parts of southwestern South Dakota, northeastern Wyoming, southeastern Montana, and Nebraska.
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 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.
Leavenworthia crassa is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, known commonly as the fleshy-fruit gladecress. It is endemic to Alabama in the United States, where it occurs in only two counties. It is "likely one of the most imperiled plant species in the Southeast," and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule listing it as an endangered species in 2014.
Astragalus neglectus, or Cooper's milkvetch, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae native to northeastern North America.
