The American Southwest
Home | Parks | Trails | Plants | Canyons
Maps | Landscapes | Site Map | Whats New? |
More...
Follow americansouthwest.net on Facebook
×
General Pages
Home
Parks
Trails
Plants
Slot Canyons
Maps
Landscapes
Itineraries
Site Map
What's New?
More pages...

States
Arizona
California
Colorado
Idaho
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Texas
Utah
Wyoming



ARIZONA
CALIFORNIA
COLORADO
IDAHO
NEVADA
NEW MEXICO
OREGON
TEXAS
UTAH
WYOMING
Plants
AGAVE AND YUCCA | CACTI | WILDFLOWERS

Astragalus Allochrous, Halfmoon Milkvetch


Plants > Wildflowers > Fabaceae > Astragalus Allochrous
Halfmoon Milkvetch; Purple flowers of astragalus allochrous, along the Casner Canyon Trail, Sedona, Arizona
Purple flowers of astragalus allochrous, along the Casner Canyon Trail, Sedona, Arizona
Common name:
Halfmoon milkvetch
Family:
Pea (Fabaceae)
Scientific name:
Astragalus allochrous
Main flower color:
Purple
Range:
Mostly in Arizona and New Mexico; small areas of southeast California, south Colorado and west Texas
Height:
Up to 20 inches
Habitat:
Sandy flats, open areas; up to 6,000 feet
Leaves:
Pinnately compound; leaflets (11 to 19) linear to lanceolate, about 1/3 of an inch long
Season:
March to May
Pintrest
Astragalus allochrous is a relatively small species, producing short, reddish branches and pinnately compound leaves. Leaves, stems and calyces are strigose; covered by short hairs that press against the surface. Leaflet margins are often red-purple, while the leaflets tend to fold up along the axis. The tips of the leaflets are either flat or shallowly notched.

Flowers form in racemes of 5 to 10 or more; petals are usually purple (less often white), the banner with white streaks at the center, while the calyces are initially green, becoming red-purple. The banner petal is curved back at about 45 degrees. The common name, halfmoon milkvetch, refers to the shape of the seed pods, which are papery and inflated. They too are initially greenish, later red. There are two varieties, var allochrous and var playanus (which usually has white petals), the latter most common.




Compound leaf
Compound leaf
Halfmoon Milkvetch
Flower cluster
Small leaflets
Small leaflets
Back to Top
Arizona | California | Colorado | Idaho | Nevada | New Mexico | Oregon | Texas | Utah | Wyoming | Slot Canyons | Travelogue | SOUTHWEST

All Contents © Copyright The American Southwest | Comments and Questions | Contribute | Site Map