Species Information
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Anthophyta
Class: Dicotyledoneae
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Astragalus
Species: cyaneus
Cyanic Milkvetch - Astragalus cyaneus
Image courtesy of New Mexico Rare Plants
533922
Species Extent (New Mexico)
General Description
Perennial; stemless or stems numerous, short, 1-6 cm long; foliage grayish or green, strigulose with basifixed hairs; leaves 5-15 cm; leaflets 15-29, obovate to elliptic, 5-15 mm long, 1.5-3 times longer than wide; stipules free (not connate); inflorescences included within the foliage, axis 4-6 cm, with 10-numerous, loosely arranged, spreading or somewhat declined pea-like flowers, flowering stems elongating in fruit to 1.5-2.5 dm; calyx tube bell-shaped to cylindric, 8-10 mm long, lobes 2-4.5 mm long; corolla 18-22 mm long, pink-purple, narrow, banner with pale eyespot; fruits ascending to humistrate (lying on ground), inconspicuosly strigose, sessile, unilocular or appearing partially bilocular due to near conjunction of top and bottom sutures (making the pod didymous), 2.5-3.5(4.5) cm long, 7-13 mm wide, top and bottom faces both depressed, bottom deeply so, sutures conspicuous, walls fleshy, becoming thickly corky or woody and rough upon drying. Flowers late April to June (August).
Status
Observations in Natural Heritage New Mexico Database
Number of Subpopulations: 27
Number of Mapped Locations: 112
Number of Observations: 120
Observation date range: 05-23-1930 to 07-27-2023
External Links
View More Information about this species at:
NatureServe Explorer
New Mexico Rare Plants Website
Environmental Conservation Online System (ECOS)
NatureServe Explorer
New Mexico Rare Plants Website
Environmental Conservation Online System (ECOS)