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| Astragalus vexilliflexus
var. vexilliflexus Sheldon |
|
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| TAXONOMY |
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| Family: |
Fabaceae |
| Genus: |
Astragalus |
| |
| Species Synonyms: |
Homalobus vexilliflexus (Sheldon) Rydb. |
| Common Names: |
bent-flowered milk-vetch
few-flowered milk-vetch |
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| DISTRIBUTION |
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| Canada: |
southeastern British Columbia – southwestern
Alberta, southwestern Saskatchewan |
| Saskatchewan: |
southwestern Saskatchewan; Cypress Hills –
Rockglen |
| Ecoregion: |
Cypress Upland, Mixed Grassland |
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| HABITAT |
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| Saskatchewan: |
eroded short-grass prairie |
| Associated species: |
taproot fleabane |
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| RARITY STATUS |
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Provincial
Status According
to Harms (2003): |
Vulnerable |
| Nature Conservancy
Status: |
G4 S2 |
Saskatchewan
Species at
Risk Status: |
None |
| COSEWIC Status:
|
None |
| |
| Bent-flowered milkvetch
is vulnerable in Saskatchewan because it is rare or uncommon. This species
is only somewhat regionally restricted but most local populations are small.
Possible threats have been identified. |
| |
| SPECIES
DESCRIPTION |
| |
| Roots: |
taproot woody |
| Stems: |
caudex somewhat woody, branching;
stems perennial, several, creeping or reclining, low, tufted or matted,
3 – 20 cm long, stiff, hairs attached at the base |
| Stipules: |
2 – 5 mm long, fused at
base of stem, nearly distinct above |
| Leaves: |
alternate, short-stalked to
nearly sessile, odd-pinnate, 1 – 5.5 cm long |
| Leaflets: |
5 – 17, 3 – 15 mm
long, elliptic or linear to narrowly oval |
| Inflorescence: |
loose, unbranched, 3 –
11-flowered; flower stalks 1 – 2.5 mm long; inflorescence stalk axillary,
0.5 – 4 cm long |
| Flowers: |
sepal tube 1.5 – 2 mm
long, bell-shaped; petals pink to purple; banner 5 – 9 mm long; wings
4 – 7 mm long, keel 3 – 5 mm long |
| Fruits: |
pod somewhat reflexed, stalkless,
5 – 12 mm long, elliptic, strongly flattened; seeds 2 – 2.5
mm long, olive to blackish, smooth |
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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 |
| |
|
| 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 |
| |
|
| 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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