Astragalus missouriensis var. humistratus (Pagosa Milkvetch)
Family
FABACEAE
Synonyms
NONE
Common Name
Pagosa Milkvetch
| USFWS | State of NM | USFS | BLM | Navajo Nation | State Rank | Global Rank | R-E-D Code | NMRPTC Status | Strategy Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEN | S1 | G5T2 | 2-1-2 | R | SS |
| Overall Conservation Status | Documented Threats | Actions Needed |
|---|---|---|
| UNDER CONSERVED | No Information |
Status surveys on abundance, distribution and threats |
Counties
Description
Plants strongly caulescent; stems dolabriform pubescent, prostrate, 1-1.5(-2) dm long; leaves 5-14 cm long; leaflets mostly 11-19, obovate or elliptic, 5-15 mm long, 2-3 mm wide; stipules lower connate; inflorescences subumbels with 9-12 ascending or spreading, narrow flowers; flowers pea-like; calyx tube cylindric, often dark-pigmented, mostly 6-9 mm long, corolla pink-purple, wing petal tips white; fruit ascending, divergent or humistrate, sessile, unilocular or subunilocular, persistent, dorsiventrally compressed at maturity, mostly 12-25 mm long, 6-9 mm wide, fleshy, often dull-reddish. Flowers in May.
Similar Species
Variety humistratus is distinguished from variety missouriensis and variety amphibolus by its longer, prostrate stems and connate lower stipules. The pods of variety amphibolus are usually abruptly upturned at the tip and sometimes deciduous. The pods of variety humistratus and variety missouriensis are straight and persistent.
Distribution
New Mexico, northern Rio Arriba County; adjacent Colorado, Archuleta and Hinsdale counties.
Habitat
Soils derived from the Mancos and Lewis formations. Openings in ponderosa pine, Gambel oak, and upper piñon-juniper woodlands at 2,150-2,345 m (7,050-7,700 ft).
Remarks
Astragalus missouriensis var. humistratus is a very narrow endemic known only from a few locations in Colorado and three locations in New Mexico. In Colorado it is often found with Townsendia glabella, another narrow endemic.
Conservation Considerations
An inventory of potential habitat in New Mexico is needed to determine if current land uses pose a threat to this plant. Residential growth and development are the main threats in Colorado.
Important Literature
Isley, D. 1998. Native and naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the United States. Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
*Decker, K. 2006. Astragalus missouriensis Nutt. var. humistratus Isely (Missouri milkvetch): a technical conservation assessment. [Online]. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/projects/scp/assessments/astragalusmissouriensisvarhumistratus.pdf [accessed May 2007].
Isely D. 1983. New combinations and two new varieties in Astragalus, Orophaca, and Oxytropis (Leguminosae). Systematic Botany 8:420-426.
Information Compiled By
Kenneth D. Heil 2007
For distribution maps and more information, visit Natural Heritage New Mexico