''Astragalus wetherillii'' is a species of flowering plant in the
known by the common name Wetherill's milkvetch. It is native to
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
and
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
in the United States.
[''Astragalus wetherillii''.]
NatureServe.
This perennial herb grows from a
taproot and a
caudex
A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695
In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...
which yields several stems. The stems are partly purplish or reddish in color and are finely hairy. The leaves are green, without the silvery hairs of some other ''Astragalus''. Each leaf is up to 10 centimeters long and is made up of up to 15 leaflets. The flowers are white or lavender-tinted and roughly a centimeter long. The fruit is a
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 with a single chamber inside. It is green and sometimes purple-speckled.
[Decker, K. (2005, December 20)]
''Astragalus wetherillii'' Jones (Wetherill’s milkvetch): A technical conservation assessment.
nline USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region.
This species is found mainly in Colorado, and there is one occurrence in the canyon of the
Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
in Utah. This has not been surveyed recently but it probably survives in the canyon.
[ It grows in pinyon-juniper woodland habitat, as well as shrublands and desert scrub. It usually grows in open areas on slopes and in ]arroyo
Arroyo often refers to:
* Arroyo (creek), an intermittently dry creek
Arroyo may also refer to:
People
* Arroyo (surname)
Places United States
;California
* Arroyo Burro Beach, a public beach park in Santa Barbara County, California
* Arroyo ...
s.[ It may be locally common.][
This species is a short-lived perennial but sometimes it lasts only one year before dying. It reproduces by seed. Flowering occurs in May and June.][
]
References
External links
USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4811311
wetherillii
Flora of Colorado
Flora of Utah