Canadian Milkvetch

Astragalus canadensis L. Sp. PI. 757. 1753
Tragacanlha canadensis Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 943. 1891.
Phaca canadensis MacMill. Metasp. Minn. Valley 325, as synonym. 1892.
Astragalus canadensis monlicola Gand. Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. 48: xv. 1902.
A perennial; stem 1-1.5 m. high, striate and slightly angled, strigose or in age glabrate; leaves ascending, 8-20 cm. long; stipules deltoid, 4—6 mm. long, acuminate; leaflets 15-31, elliptic or oblong, 1-3.5 cm. long, 5-15 mm. wide, glabrous above, decidedly strigose beneath, rounded at each end; peduncles 5-15 cm. long, strict, sulcate; racemes 5-10 cm. long; bracts subulate, 5-S mm. long; flowers spreading or reflexed; pedicels about 1 mm. long; calyx finely strigose, the tube 5-6 mm. long, 2.5 mm. broad, the teeth subulate 1.5-2 mm. long; corolla greenish-white or ochroleucous, 12-15 mm. long; banner obovate, slightly arcuate; wings shorter, the blade lance-oblong, shorter than the claw, with a large reflexed basal auricle; keelpetals still shorter, the blade broadly lunate, abruptly arched above the middle, rounded at the apex; pod thick-leathery, oblong, abruptly acute, cross-reticulate, 15IS mm. long, 6 mm. thick and wide; seeds dark-brown, obliquely reniform 2, mm. long.
Type locality: Canada.
Distribution: Among bushes, from Quebec to Hudson Bay, British Columbia, Utah, north Texas, and Virginia.

Astragalus halei Rydberg, sp. nov
A perennial; stem probably 5 dm. high or more, terete, scarcely even striate, glabrous or sparingly strigulose; leaves ascending, about 1.5 dm. long; stipules deltoid, distinct, about 5 mm. long; leaflets 15-21, thin, 1-3 cm. long, elliptic, rounded at the apex, obtuse at the base, glabrous above, strigulose beneath; peduncles 5-8 cm. long; racemes 3-5 cm. long, not dense; bracts subulate, 4—6 mm. long; pedicels very short, in fruit 3 mm. long; calyx sparingly strigose, the tube 5 mm. long, 2 mm. broad, gibbous at the base on the upper side, the teeth subulate, a little more than 1 mm. long; corolla cream-colored, 14—15 mm. long; banner narrowly obovate, slightly arched; wings a little shorter, the blade oblong, with a large reflexed basal auricle; keel-petals nearly as long, the blade broadly lunate, rounded at the apex, with a round auricle; pod spreading or slightly reflexed, sessile, subterete, glabrous, transversely reticulate, slightly arched, abruptly acute at each end, the beak short, recurved.
Type collected in Louisiana, Dr. Hale 313 (Torrey Herbarium, flowers); also at Shreveport, Cocks 3624 (fruit).
Distribution: Louisiana to Alabama.

Astragalus carolinianus L. Sp. PI. 757. 1753
Astragalus canadensis carolinianus M. E. Jones. Proc. Calif. Acad. II. S: 647. 1895.
A perennial; stem 3-6 dm. high, terete, barely striate, glabrous or sparingly strigose, flexuose; leaves spreading, 10-17 cm. long; stipules deltoid, acuminate, 3-4 mm. long; leaflets 13-27, oblong or elliptic, 1-3 cm. long, 3-10 mm. wide, thin, glabrous above, minutely strigulose beneath, rounded or slightly retuse at the apex; peduncles about 1 dm. long, strict; racemes 8-12 cm. long, many-flowered; bracts subulate, 3 mm. long; flowers reflexed; calyx sparingly strigulose, the tube 4 mm. long, 2 mm. broad, the teeth subulate, nearly 3 mm. long ; corolla white, about 12 mm. long; banner oblanceolate, slightly arched at the middle; wings shorter, the blade oblong, slightly falcate, about as long as the claw, with a long reflexed basal auricle one third as long as the blade itself; keel-petals shorter, the blade broadly lunate, abruptly arched at the middle, rounded at the apex; pod thick, leathery, oblong, 1 cm. long, 5 mm. thick and about as wide, glabrous, cross-reticulate, abruptly contracted at both ends; seeds brown, obliquely round-reniform, 1.5 mm. long.
Type locality: Carolina.
Distribution: Maryland to West Virginia and Georgia.

Perennial, Herbs, Stems woody below, or from woody crown or caudex, Plants with rhizomes or suckers, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems or branches arching, spreading or decumbent, Stems less than 1 m tall, Stems 1-2 m tall, Stems hollow, or spongy, Stems with 2-branched hairs, dolabriform, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules conspicuous, Stipules membranous or chartaceous, Stipules persistent, Stipules connate to each other, forming a tuber or sheath, Leaves compound, Leaves odd pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets 10-many, Leaves hairy on one or both surfaces, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence axillary, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Flowers zy gomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx hairy, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals ochroleucous, cream colored, Banner petal narrow or oblanceolate, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing petals auriculate, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel petals auriculate, spurred, or gibbous, Keel tips obtuse or rounded, not beaked, Stamens 9-10, Stamens diadelphous, 9 united, 1 free, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Style persistent in fruit, Fruit a legume, Fruit unilocular, Fruit freely dehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit beaked, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit 11-many seeded, Seeds cordiform, mit-shaped, notched at one end, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.

Astragalus canadensis is a common and widespread member of the milkvetch genus in the legume family, known commonly as Canadian milkvetch. The plant is found throughout Canada and the United States in many habitats including wetlands, woodlands, and prairies. It sends out several thin, erect, green stems, bearing leaves that are actually made up of pairs of leaflets, each leaflet up to 3 centimeters in length. It has inflorescences of tubular, greenish-white flowers which yield beanlike fruits within pods that rattle when dry.

Like other Astragalus species, A. canadensis is somewhat toxic, but it has been used medicinally by Native American groups such as the Blackfoot and Lakota people, particularly the roots.