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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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| BENT-FLOWERED MILKVETCH | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Astragalus vexilliflexus var. vexilliflexus | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Bent-flowered milkvetch is a creeping, reclining or low-tufted plant. The stem has long, stiff hairs. The leaves are alternate and have five to 17 leaflets. The inflorescence is an unbranched cluster of three to 11 flowers. The sepals are bell-shaped. The flowers are pink or purple and the pod is strongly flattened. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Bent-flowered milkvetch grows on eroded prairies. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in Cypress Upland and Mixed Grassland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| 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 for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY BENT-FLOWERED MILKVETCH | |||||||||
| * Are the stems creeping or reclining on the ground? * Are pods strongly flattened? * Are the petals pink or purple? * Did you find it in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found bent-flowered milkvetch! | |||||||||
