Astragalus spatulatus (Tufted Milk-Vetch) - photos and description

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

General: Low growing plant with a cushion growth habit. Foliage is greenish-grey.

Flowers: Flowers are pinkish purple, 1 cm long, flowering scapes of plants measured to 10 cm tall.

Leaves: Leaves are all basal, simple, linear. Leaves 2.5 cm long and 3 mm wide. Leaves are silvery-grey pubescent on both sides.

Height: Not applicable.

Habitat: Eroded hillsides and slopes in southern Saskatchewan.

Abundance: Rare, ranked as an S3 (as of 2021) by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre.

Origin: Native.

When and where photographed: Photos taken May 21st on rocky hillsides of the Frenchman River Valley, west block of the Grasslands National Park, about 400 km southwest of Regina, SK, and May 23rd, a rocky cliff in the Cypress Hills, about 450 km southwest of our home in Regina, SK.