''Astragalus platytropis'' is a species of
milkvetch
''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 tempe ...
known by the common name broadkeel milkvetch. It is native to the western United States from
Montana to
California, where it lives at high elevation in
alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
and
subalpine plant communities. This is a small perennial milkvetch which forms a small patch of short silvery-green stems on rocky ground. The leaves may be up to long and are made up of several hairy leaflets. The
inflorescence is a head of four to nine pale purple flowers, each just under long. The fruit is a bladdery
legume
A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...
pod which can exceed long.
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfilePhoto gallery
platytropis
Flora of the Western United States
{{Astragalus-stub