Milk Vetch

(Astragalus canadensis)

 

   

 

Kantrud, Harold A. 1995. Native Wildflowers of the North Dakota Grasslands. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, USGS.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Milk Vetch (Astragalus canadensis L.)

Identification: Flowers yellow, typically legumelike, but elongate, tubular. Flowers arranged in a tightly packed, elongate cluster at the tip of a long flower stalk. Stem smooth. Leaves divided into 7 to 15 pairs of clearly spaced leaflets. Each leaflet thin and narrow. Plant 1 to 4 feet in height.

Distribution: Throughout most of North America.

Habitat: Milk Vetch in commonly found in thickets and along the shores of lakes, ponds, and rivers.

Flowering period: June to August.

Similar Species: The genus Astralagus is a large and complicated genus of several species. Technical manuals are needed to make accurate identifications.

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