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Astragalus
Also called Locoweed, Milk Vetch, Milk Vetches, Milkvetches
Astragalus is a very large genus of over 3,000 herbs and small shrubs in the pea family, mostly native to temperate Northern Hemisphere regions, with both annual and perennial species. Most grown forms are hardy perennials that need full sun and well-drained soil, as species vary widely in their needs.
Astragalus is a large genus of over 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae and the subfamily Faboideae. It is the largest genus of plants in terms of described species. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names include milkvetch (most species), locoweed (in North America, some species) and goat's-thorn (A. gummifer, A. tragacantha). Some pale-flowered vetches (Vicia spp.) are similar in appearance, but they are more vine-like than Astragalus.
Astragalus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including many case-bearing moths of the genus Coleophora: C. cartilaginella, C. colutella, C. euryaula, and C. onobrychiella feed exclusively on Astragalus, C. astragalella and C. gallipennella feed exclusively on the species Astragalus glycyphyllos, and C. hippodromica is limited to Astragalus gombo.
Chickpea milkvetch · Groundplum milkvetch · Yellow Alpine Milkvetch · Licorice milkvetch · Gum tragacanth milkvetch · Freckled milkvetch · Mongolian Milkvetch · Woollypod milkvetch · Marsh milkvetch · Cream milkvetch · Astragalus sarcocolla · Chinese milk-vetch
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Astragalus (plant) by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
