| Astragalus ripleyi | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Astragalus |
| Species: | A. ripleyi |
| Binomial name | |
| Astragalus ripleyi Barneby | |
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. [1]
This plant is a perennial herb growing up to one meter tall with stems arising from an underground caudex. This caudex branches into stems underground and has been called a rhizome. The leaves are compound, each made up of up to 19 leaflets. The plant is mostly hairy, with silvery hairs giving it a grayish appearance. The flowers are yellow and between 1 and 2 centimeters long. The fruit is a flat pod up to 3 centimeters long. Each fruit has a long stipe, the area between the stem and the fruit. Flowering occurs in June and July. [1]
This plant occurs in the southern Rocky Mountains. It grows in ponderosa pine savanna, pinyon-juniper woodlands, shrublands, sagebrush, and meadows. It is often found next to shrubs such as Artemisia tridentata , Quercus gambelii , Chrysothamnus spp., and Juniperus spp. These shrubs may form a microclimate that the milkvetch can survive in, or it may remain beneath shrubs because those out in the open are grazed by animals. It grows in areas with high plant biodiversity. Trees in the area may include Abies concolor , Pinus edulis , Populus tremuloides , and Pseudotsuga menziesii . Shrubs include Artemisia spp., Chrysothamnus greenei , Chrysothamnus nauseosus , Cercocarpus montanus , Potentilla fruticosa , and Rhus trilobata . Forbs include Machaeranthera bigelovii , Astragalus drummondii , Astragalus hallii , Astragalus lonchocarpus , Gutierrezia sarothrae , Heterotheca villosa , Hymenoxys odorata , Picradenia richardsonii , Eriogonum racemosum , Linum lewisii , and Melilotus officinalis . The plant only occurs on volcanic soils. [1] [2]
This species is only found in Taos and Rio Arriba Counties in New Mexico and Conejos County, Colorado. It can be locally abundant. There are an estimated 10,000 individuals. [1]
This plant is attractive to many types of animals and it may be heavily grazed. Grazing, especially by sheep, is a threat to its survival. Wildlife also consumes it. Another threat is invasive plant species, especially species of clover. Other threats include fire suppression and any force that causes erosion in the habitat. [1]
Astragalus alpinus is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name alpine milkvetch. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring throughout the upper latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.
Astragalus agrestis is a species of milkvetch known by the common names purple milkvetch, purple loco, and field milkvetch. It is native to much of western and northern North America from most of Canada to the southwestern United States, as well as eastern Asia. It grows in vernally moist areas such as meadows, and is often found in sagebrush.
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 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.
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.
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 australis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Indian milkvetch. It is native to much of the Northern Hemisphere, including northern North America, Europe, and temperate Asia.
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.
Chrysothamnus molestus is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names Arizona rabbitbrush, Tusayan rabbitbrush, disturbed rabbitbrush, and stickyfruit low rabbitbrush. It is endemic to the State of Arizona in the southwestern United States, where it is known from Coconino, Apache, and Navajo Counties.
Eriogonum crosbyae is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Crosby's buckwheat. It is native to southcentral Oregon and northwestern Nevada in the United States. Some treatments include plants in Montana and Idaho as members of this species. This plant was first discovered in the Guano Valley in Lake County, Oregon, in 1978 by Bureau of Land Management botanist Virginia Crosby, and it was named for her in 1981.
Eriogonum visheri is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names Dakota wild buckwheat and Visher's buckwheat. It is native to the Great Plains in the United States, where it is known from North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana.
Hackelia cronquistii is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name Cronquist's stickseed.
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 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 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.
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.
Xanthisma coloradoense is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Colorado tansyaster. It is native to Colorado and Wyoming in the United States.
Physaria pruinosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names Pagosa Springs bladderpod and frosty bladderpod. It is native to Colorado and New Mexico in the United States.
