''Oxytropis'' is a genus of plants in the legume family. It is one of three genera of plants known as

locoweed Locoweed (also crazyweed and loco) is a common name in North America for any plant that produces swainsonine, a phytotoxin harmful to livestock. Worldwide, swainsonine is produced by a small number of species, most of them in three genera of the f ...

s, and are notorious for being toxic to grazing animals. The other locoweed genus is the closely related ''

Astragalus ''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 ...

''. There are about 600 species, native to Eurasia and North America. Several species are native to the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

. These are hairy perennial plants which produce raceme

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

s of pink, purple, white, or yellow flowers which are generally pea-like but have distinctive sharply beaked keels. The stems are leafless, the leaves being all basal. The plant produces legume pods containing the seeds.

Selected species

*'' Oxytropis arctica'' – Arctic locoweed *'' Oxytropis bellii'' *'' Oxytropis borealis'' – boreal locoweed *''

Oxytropis campestris ''Oxytropis campestris'', the field locoweed, is a plant native to Northern Europe, the mountains of Central & Southern Europe, the Northwestern United States and all of Canada, sometimes grown as an ornamental plant. It is found in prairies, w ...

'' – field locoweed *'' Oxytropis deflexa'' – nodding locoweed *'' Oxytropis halleri'' – purple oxytropis *''

Oxytropis jacquinii ''Oxytropis'' is a genus of plants in the Fabaceae, legume family. It is one of three genera of plants known as locoweeds, and are notorious for being toxic to grazing animals. The other locoweed genus is the closely related ''Astragalus''. Ther ...

'' *'' Oxytropis kobukensis'' – Kobuk locoweed *'' Oxytropis lambertii'' – purple locoweed *'' Oxytropis monticola'' – yellow-flowered locoweed *''

Oxytropis nitens ''Oxytropis'' is a genus of plants in the legume family. It is one of three genera of plants known as locoweeds, and are notorious for being toxic to grazing animals. The other locoweed genus is the closely related ''Astragalus''. There are ab ...

'' *'' Oxytropis ocrensis'' *'' Oxytropis oreophila'' – mountain oxytrope *'' Oxytropis oxyphylla'' *''

Oxytropis parryi ''Oxytropis'' is a genus of plants in the legume family. It is one of three genera of plants known as locoweeds, and are notorious for being toxic to grazing animals. The other locoweed genus is the closely related ''Astragalus''. There are ab ...

'' – Parry's locoweed *''

Oxytropis pilosa ''Oxytropis pilosa'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family and the Faboideae subfamily, found in Central Europe and Eastern Europe as far as Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country ...

'' *''

Oxytropis podocarpa ''Oxytropis podocarpa'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names stalkpod locoweed, stalked-pod crazyweed, and Gray's point-vetch. It is native to North America, where it occurs in the northern latitudes, f ...

'' – stalkpod locoweed *''

Oxytropis prenja ''Oxytropis prenja'' (G. Beck) G. Beck in Reichenb. & Reichenb. Fil. (synonyms: ''O. halleri'' Bunge ex Koch var. ''prenja'' G. Beck, in Bosnian ''Prenjska osivnica'' (Prenj's locoweed) or ''Prenjska oštrica'') is a species of flowering plant ...

'' *''

Oxytropis prostrata ''Oxytropis'' is a genus of plants in the legume family. It is one of three genera of plants known as locoweeds, and are notorious for being toxic to grazing animals. The other locoweed genus is the closely related ''Astragalus''. There are ab ...

'' *''

Oxytropis pseudoglandulosa ''Oxytropis'' is a genus of plants in the legume family. It is one of three genera of plants known as locoweeds, and are notorious for being toxic to grazing animals. The other locoweed genus is the closely related ''Astragalus''. There are ab ...

'' *''

Oxytropis riparia ''Oxytropis'' is a genus of plants in the legume family. It is one of three genera of plants known as locoweeds, and are notorious for being toxic to grazing animals. The other locoweed genus is the closely related ''Astragalus''. There are ab ...

'' – Oxus locoweed *''

Oxytropis sericea ''Oxytropis sericea'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names white locoweed, white point-vetch, whitepoint crazyweed, and silky crazyweed. It is native to western North America from Yukon and British Colum ...

'' – white locoweed *''

Oxytropis sordida ''Oxytropis sordida'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Fabaceae. Its native range is Northern and Eastern Europe to Northern Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r ...

'' *''

Oxytropis strobilacea ''Oxytropis'' is a genus of plants in the legume family. It is one of three genera of plants known as locoweeds, and are notorious for being toxic to grazing animals. The other locoweed genus is the closely related ''Astragalus''. There are ab ...

'' *'' Oxytropis todomoshiriensis''

References

External links

*
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1424322 Fabaceae genera