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Tennessee milkvetch

Astragalus tennesseensis

Also called Tennessee Milk Vetch

Tennessee milkvetch
Photo: Mason Brock (Masebrock), Public domain

Tennessee milkvetch is a rare native legume of the central US, found in cedar glades and open prairie in Tennessee, Alabama, Illinois and Indiana. It is a slow-growing perennial adapted to dry summers and it does not tolerate heavy shade.

Family
Fabaceae (Pea & bean family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Part shade
Water
Water sparingly and let the soil dry between waterings, as it tolerates summer drought.
Soil
Well-drained, gritty or rocky soil such as a glade-type mix; avoid heavy, wet soil.
Temperature
Hardy in temperate climates, roughly USDA zones 5 to 8; protect young plants from severe cold.
How easy
Hard
Native range
C. Illinois to Alabama
Climate
temperate

About

Astragalus tennesseensis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Tennessee milkvetch. It is native to the United States, where it is known from Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee and Alabama. Most of the occurrences are in Tennessee.

This plant produces cream-colored flowers in April and May. The seedlings grow slowly and several years pass before the plants reach reproductive maturity. The species is adapted to drought, remaining metabolically active in habitat that is dry over the summer.

Other Astragalus plants

Astragalus aboriginum · Rogue River milkvetch · Sharp-leaved Milk Vetch · Sharpkeel milkvetch · Humboldt County milkvetch · Purple milkvetch · Cushenbury milkvetch · Astragalus alopecurus · Alpine milkvetch · Crescent milkvetch · Hermit Milkvetch · Anderson's milkvetch

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Astragalus tennesseensis 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.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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