Cronquist Milkvetch
Astragalus cronquistii
NatureServe conservation status
Global (G-rank): G2
State (S-rank): S2
Utah Wildlife Action Plan status
- SGCN
External links
General information
Astragalus cronquistii is a perennial that blooms April through May with pink and purple flowers. It can be found among blackbrush and salt desert shrubs on the Cutler and Morrison Formations in Utah. Its habitat is usually on low, sandy, or gravelly ridges and washes and has a propensity for selenium-rich substrates. Astragalus cronquistii has adapted to have subterranean stems allowing it to survive periods of drought.
Description
Astragalus cronquistii is a perennial that blooms April through May with pink and purple flowers. It can be found among blackbrush and salt desert shrubs on the Cutler and Morrison Formations in Utah. Its habitat is usually on low, sandy, or gravelly ridges and washes and has a propensity for selenium-rich substrates. Astragalus cronquistii has adapted to have subterranean stems allowing it to survive periods of drought.
Phenology
This species flowers between April and June.
Diagnostic characteristics
This species is distinguishable by its narrow pods, lower stipule sheathing, and its pink-purple flowers
Species range
A Navajo Basin endemic, found in San Juan County, Utah and Montezuma County, Colorado.
Habitat
A Utah Flora 2015: The species occupies two disjunct areas in San Juan Co., Utah; i.e., Comb
Wash (Permian Cutler Formation) and the Aneth vicinity (Jurassic Morrison
Formation), but the principal distribution of the species is in southwestern
Colorado (on Mancos Shale). Its propensity for fine-textured, seleniferous
substrates is evident, but the plant does not have the characteristic odor of
selenium. The subterranean stems are an adaption that allows this plant to
survive well below the surface during periods of drought.
Threats or limiting factors
The threats to this species include recreation, grazing, mining, climate change, road and utility line maintenance. This species is more tolerant to drought due to the adaptation of subterranean stems that allow this plant to survive below the surface during periods of drought (Welsh et al. 2015).
Taxonomy
No, this species does not have taxonomic discrepancies