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Signs: Two-Grooved Milk-Vetch / Narrow-Leaved Milk-Vetch
Located in the Signal Hill Nature Habitat
(Click on the picture for larger view)
(Unless otherwise indicated, photos by Don of www.Tatagwa.com)
Two-Grooved Milk-Vetch
(Astragalus bisulcatus) Hook. A. Gray
The Two-Grooved Milk-Vetch rises from a taproot forming a dense
clump of stems up to 90cm across and 60cm tall. Leaves are divided
into 17 to 27 leaflets. The flowers, which bloom in July, are deep
purple to reddish purple, tubular and two-lipped, appearing in a
spike. There are 20 to 30 blooms per spike, and they have a heavy,
unpleasant odour. The seed capsules are narrow, oblong pods with
two deep grooves.
This plant and other legume species can be poisonous to livestock
probably because they concentrate selenium. Other prairie legumes
that have similar growth habits are: Narrow-Leaved Milk-Vetch
(Astragalus flexuosis Dougl.), which is a white flowered
species; and Ground Plum (Astragalus crassicarpus Nutt.),
which produces plum-shaped seed capsules and has pale violet
to white flowers.