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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE LEGUME FAMILY | ||
| The legumes are widely used as crop
foods around the world. Some well known examples are peas (Pisum),
peanuts (Arachis hypogaea), and beans (Phaseolus).
Some legumes are planted as alternate crops to restore nitrogen to the soil
with the nitrogen-fixing bacteria in their roots nodules. Other plants,
like the sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus), are used as ornamentals The legumes are herbs or trees. These plants have pinnately or palmately compound leaves. Rarely, the leaves are simple. Stipules, or a pair of leaf-like structures, are found at the base of the leaf. The flowers are in various types of inflorescences in the leaf axils and at the top of the plant, or the flowers are solitary. The flowers are usually irregularly shaped with five petals: the banner, two wings and two keels. The banner is the outermost petal and is often quite large. The wings are the next outermost petals and are found on the sides. The keel is made of two petals that often appear fused to create a boat shape. The legumes usually have 10 stamens, commonly in a diadelphous, or nine plus one arrangement. The fruit types in this family include the legume, such as the pea, or the loment, which is constricted between the seeds. In some legume species, modifications such as tendrils or thorns may be observed. |
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| CREAMY MILKVETCH | ||
| LATIN NAME: Astragalus racemosus var. racemosus | ||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | ||
| Creamy milkvetch is a perennial species that grows from a woody taproot. The stems grow upwards and tend to be branched. The lower leaves are stalked but the upper leaves are nearly stalkess. There are 11 to 31 leaflets per leaf. The inflorescence contains 15 to 70 nodding flowers in a dense, unbranched cluster. The sepal tubes are bell-shaped and white hairy. The petals are whitish with a purple-tipped keel. The fruit is a hairy pod that hangs down from the stem. | ||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | ||
| Creamy milkvetch grows in clay soil on eroded slopes and banks. | ||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | ||
| This species is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Moist Mixed Grassland and Aspen Parkland ecoregions. | ||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | ||
| Creamy milkvetch is vulnerable in Saskatchewan because it is rare or uncommon and somewhat regionally restricted in the province. Local population sizes vary. No immediate threats are known for this species. | ||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY CREAMY MILKVETCH | ||
| * Are there 11 to 31 leaflets per leaf? * Are the flowers and fruits hanging down? * Are the petals white with a purple-tipped keel? * Did you find it in southwestern Saskatchewan? |
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| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found creamy milkvetch! | ||
