Astragalus agrestis (Purple Milk-Vetch) - photos and description
Plants have slender rhizomes.
Hairs basifixed, not malpighian.
General: Plant with slender, creeping roots, often forming large patches. We observed plants having single stems, however Budd's Flora states the plants can be tufted.
Flowers: Flowers in a globose spike, spike measured to 25 mm long, flowers light violet, we measured flowers to 17 mm long. Calyx hairy, sometimes with black hairs.
Leaves: Leaves are alternate, pinnate, we counted 16-18 leaflets, leaflets are linear-oblong, we measured a leaflet 15 mm long by 5 mm wide. Leaves sparsely hairy on bottom, top and margins. Leaves basifixed (not malpighian).
Height: Height is listed in Budd's Flora to 30 cm, we measured plants to 19 cm tall.
Habitat: Grassland in the prairies and parklands.
Abundance: Common.
Origin: Native.
Synonym: listed in some of the field guides we use as A. danicus, A. dasyglottis.
Synonym: This plant is very similar to Astragalus laxmannii var. robustior (syn. A. striatus, A. adsurgens), however that plant has a taproot (Budd's Flora), has malpighian hairs (Budd's Flora), and is caespitose not rhizomatous (Taxonomic Reminder for Recognizing Saskatchewan Plants).
When and where photographed: Photos taken June 24th, grassland about 125 km west of out home in Regina, SK.