Astragalus

Astragalus is a large genus of about 2,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names include milk-vetch , locoweed and goat's-thorn . Some pale-flowered es are similar in appearance, but vetches are more vine-like.

Host for insects

''Astragalus'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the following case-bearers of the genus ''Coleophora'': ''C. astragalella'' , ''C. cartilaginella'' , ''C. colutella'', ''C. euryaula'' , ''C. gallipennella'' , ''C. hippodromica'' , ''C. onobrychiella'' , ''C. polonicella'' and ''C. vicinella''.

Medicinal use

''Astragalus propinquus'' has a history of use as an herbal medicine, and the biotechnology firms Geron Corporation and TA Sciences have been working on deriving a telomerase activator from it.

Ornamental use

Several species, including ''A. alpinus'' , ''A. hypoglottis'' and ''A. lotoides'', are grown as ornamental plants in gardens.

Selected species

* ''Astragalus adsurgens'' - Standing milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus agrestis'' - Field milk vetch, Purple milk-vetch, Cock's-head
* ''Astragalus alopecuroides''
* ''Astragalus alpinus'' - Alpine milk vetch
* ''Astragalus angustifolius''
* ''Astragalus annularis''
* ''Astragalus arenarius''
* ''Astragalus aristatus''
* ''Astragalus atropilosulus''
* ''Astragalus azizi''
* ''Astragalus baionensis''
* ''Astragalus barrii'' - Barr's milk vetch
* ''Astragalus bibullatus'' - Limestone-glade milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus bisulcatus'' - Two-groove milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus boeticus''
* ''Astragalus canadensis'' - Canadian milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus centralpinus''
* ''Astragalus christianus''
* ''Astragalus cicer'' - Wild Lentil, Chickpea milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus coccineus'' - Scarlet milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus crassicarpus'' - Ground-plum, Buffalo Plum
* ''Astragalus danicus''
* ''Astragalus debequaeus'' - Debeque milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus depressus''
* ''Astragalus echinus''
* ''Astragalus eriocarpus''
* ''Astragalus exscapus''
* ''Astragalus frigidus'' - American milk-vetch, Arctic milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus galegiformis''
* ''Astragalus gilviflorus'' - Plains milk-vetch, Plains orophaca
* ''Astragalus glycyphyllos'' - Wild Liquorice, Licorice milk-vetch

* ''Astragalus gummifer''
* ''Astragalus hypoglottis'' - Field milk-vetch, Purple milk-vetch, Cock's-head
*''Astragalus illyricus'' Illirian milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus lemmonii'' - Lemmon's milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus lentiginosus'' - Freckled milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus leontinus''
* ''Astragalus lusitanicus''
* ''Astragalus lotoides''
* ''Astragalus massiliensis''
* ''Astragalus membranaceus'' - bei qi, huang qi, ogi, hwanggi, milk vetch
* ''Astragalus missouriensis'' - Missouri milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus monspessulanus''
* ''Astragalus naturitensis'' - Naturita milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus newberryi'' - Newberry's milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus norvegicus''
* ''Astragalus nuttallii'' - Nuttall's milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus onobrychis''
* ''Astragalus penduliflorus''
* ''Astragalus propinquus'' - Huang qi
* ''Astragalus purshii'' - Pursh's milk-vetch, Woolly-pod milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus sclerocarpus'' - Sicklepod milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus sempervirens''
* ''Astragalus shinanensis''
* ''Astragalus shiroumaensis''
* ''Astragalus sirinicus''
* ''Astragalus spatulatus'' - Tufted milk-vetch, Draba milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus tennesseensis'' - Tennessee milk vetch
* ''Astragalus trichopodus'' - Santa Barbara milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus tridactylus'' - Foothill milk-vetch
* ''Astragalus tragacanthus''
* ''Astragalus vogelii''
* ''Astragalus whitneyi'' - Balloon-pod milk-vetch

External references

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* This fact sheet from the U.S. National Institutes of Health provides basic information about astragalus--common names, uses, potential side effects, and resources for more information.
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