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| Astragalus kentrophyta
var. kentrophyta Gray |
|
| |
| TAXONOMY |
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| Family: |
Fabaceae |
| Genus: |
Astragalus |
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| Species Synonyms: |
Astragalus viridis (Nutt.) Sheldon
Kentrophyta montana Nutt. |
| Common Names: |
spiny milkvetch
prickly milk-vetch
Nuttall’s kentrophyta |
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| DISTRIBUTION |
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| Canada: |
southern Alberta – southern Saskatchewan |
| Saskatchewan: |
southwestern Saskatchewan; Great Sand Hills |
| Ecoregion: |
Mixed Grassland |
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| HABITAT |
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| Saskatchewan: |
active to semi-stabilized sand
dune flats |
| Associated species: |
curly cup gumweed, dune scurfpea,
hairy goldenaster, Indian ricegrass, junegrass, sand dropseed, silverberry,
small lupine |
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| RARITY STATUS |
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Provincial
Status According
to Harms (2003): |
Threatened |
| Nature Conservancy
Status: |
G5T4 N2T2 S1 |
Saskatchewan
Species at
Risk Status: |
Threatened |
| COSEWIC Status:
|
None |
| |
| Spiny milkvetch
is threatened in Saskatchewan because it is rare and highly regionally restricted
in the province. Local population sizes vary. Possible threats have been
identified for this species. |
| |
| SPECIES
DESCRIPTION |
| |
| Roots: |
taproot strong |
| Stems: |
lying flat on the ground, branched,
10 – 40 cm long, loosely or densely matted, gray hairy or loosely
stiff hairy, hairs attached in the middle or at the base |
| Stipules: |
1.5 – 6 mm long, spiny |
| Leaves: |
stalk 0 – 4 mm long; 7
– 25 mm long, pinnate |
| Leaflets: |
5 – 7, linear, stiff,
spine-tipped, rigid and prickly, silky-stiff hairy |
| Inflorescence: |
unbranched, axillary, 1 –
4-flowered; flower stalks < 1.8 mm long; inflorescence stalk very short,
usually concealed by stipules |
| Flowers: |
sepal tube 2 – 2.5 mm
long; petals 4 – 6 mm long, yellowish white with a purplish tinge;
banner 4 – 5 mm long, arched; wings 3.5 – 5 mm long; keel 3
– 4 mm long |
| Fruits: |
pod 4 – 7 mm long, elliptic,
laterally flattened, stiff hairy; seeds 1 – 3, 2 – 3 mm long,
brownish to blackish, smooth, pitted |
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| ASTRAGALUS
KEY FOR GENERA FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN |
| |
| 1 Leaves needle-like, distinctly spine-tipped |
A. kentrophyta var. kentrophyta |
| 1 Leaves not needle-like or spine-tipped |
2 |
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2 Plants without a distinct stem,
< 10 cm tall, densely tufted; flowers often included among leaves
|
3 |
| 2 Plants with a distinct stem, >
10 cm tall, may be erect or creeping, stem not well defined in A. missouriensis;
flowers in distinct inflorescences |
6 |
| |
|
| 3 Leaves simple or with 1 or 2 linear
leaflets |
A. spatulatus |
| 3 Leaves pinnate or with 3 leaflets |
4 |
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| 4 Leaves with 3 leaflets |
A. gilviflorus var. gilviflorus |
| 4 Leaves pinnate |
|
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| 5 Leaf hairs attaching in the middle,
with one side longer than the other; leaflets 4 – 5x as long as wide,
tip acute |
A. lotiflorus |
| 5 Leaf hairs attaching at the base;
leaflets 2x as long as wide, tip rounded |
A. purshii var. purshii |
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| 6 Leaf hairs attaching in the middle,
with one side longer than the other |
7 |
| 6 Leaf hairs attaching at the base |
9 |
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| 7 Petals greenish-white or creamy;
plants green |
A. canadensis var. canadensis |
| 7 Petals purplish; plants covered
in greyish or silvery hairs |
8 |
| |
|
| 8 Leaflets in up to 12 pairs; plants
with a definite stem; stipules fused |
A. adsurgens ssp. robustior |
| 8 Leaflets fewer than or equal to
7 pairs; stem not well-defined; stipules not fused |
A. missouriensis var. missouriensis |
| |
|
| 9 Petals yellow, cream or orange,
keel occasionally blue-tinged |
10 |
| 9 Petals blue, pink, or purple |
18 |
| |
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| 10 Leaves and stems gray-hairy, hairs
1 – 2 mm long, widely spreading |
A. drummondii |
| 10 Hairs of leaves and stem variable
but hairs shorter than 1 mm long |
11 |
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| 11 Pods hairless or nearly to |
12 |
| 11 Pods distinctly hairy |
15 |
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| 12 Pods sessile or nearly so, stalk
< 1 mm long; pods very fleshy, walls thick, hard and bony when dry |
A. crassicarpus |
| 12 Pods stalked, stalk equal to or
exceeding sepals; pods not fleshy, walls thin |
13 |
| |
|
| 13 Pods linear |
A. racemosus var. racemosus |
| 13 Pods broader |
14 |
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| 14 Leaflets 2 – 4 cm long; pods
inflated and nearly round in cross section |
A. americanus |
| 14 Leaflets < 2 cm long; pods very
strongly flattened |
A. tenellus |
| |
|
| 15 Flowers small, sepal tube 1.5 –
4.5 mm long, banner 4 – 12.5 mm long |
16 |
| 15 Flowers large, sepal tube >
4.5 mm long, banner > 13 mm long |
17 |
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| 16 Pods hanging down, stalked |
A. alpinus var. alpinus |
| 16 Pods erect, short-stalked |
A. bodinii |
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| 17 Leaflets without stalks; pods sessile |
A. pectinatus |
| 17 Leaflets with stalks; pods stalked |
A. agrestis |
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| 18 Pods 1 – 3 cm long |
19 |
| 18 Pods generally less than 1.1 cm
long |
20 |
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| 19 Pods with two deep grooves on upper
side |
A. bisulcatus |
| 19 Pods lacking two deep grooves |
A. flexuosus var. flexuosus |
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| 20 Pods spreading to erect |
21 |
| 20 Pods spreading to deflexed |
22 |
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| 21 Flowers small, sepal tube <
4.5 mm long, banner < 13 mm long |
A. bodinii |
| 21 Flowers large, sepal tube >
4.5 mm long, banner > 13 mm long |
A. agrestis |
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| 22 Pods plump |
A. gracilis |
| 22 Pods strongly flattened laterally |
23 |
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| 23 Inflorescences at most loosely
10-flowered; inflorescence stalks shorter than or only slightly surpassing
leaves |
A. vexilliflexus var. vexilliflexus |
| 23 Inflorescences usually more than
10-flowered; inflorescence stalks longer than leaves |
A. eucosmus |
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