Astragalus crotalariae
Encyclopedia
Astragalus crotalariae is a species of milkvetch
known by the common name Salton milkvetch. It is native to the Colorado Desert
in California
and other Sonoran Desert
s in Arizona
and northern Mexico. It grows in desert scrub habitat, including the Salton Sink
in the Coachella Valley
.
bears up to 25 reddish purple flowers, each 2 to 3 centimeters long. The fruit is an inflated legume pod up to 3 centimeters long. It is usually roughly hairy and dries to a thick papery texture.
from the soil. It has also been shown to harbor a selenium-metabolizing Bacillus
species in its seed pods.
Astragalus
Astragalus is a large genus of about 3,000 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...
known by the common name Salton milkvetch. It is native to the Colorado Desert
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and other Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
s in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and northern Mexico. It grows in desert scrub habitat, including the Salton Sink
Salton Sink
The Salton Sink is a geographic sink in the Coachella and Imperial valleys of southeastern California. It is in the Colorado Desert subregion of the Sonoran Desert ecoregion...
in the Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
.
Description
Astragalus crotalariae is a bushy perennial herb growing to heights between 15 and 60 centimeters. It is roughly hairy and has an unpleasant scent. The leaves are up to 16 centimeters long and are made up of several pairs of thick oval-shaped to rounded leaflets. The open inflorescenceInflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
bears up to 25 reddish purple flowers, each 2 to 3 centimeters long. The fruit is an inflated legume pod up to 3 centimeters long. It is usually roughly hairy and dries to a thick papery texture.
Selenium
Like many other Astragalus species, this plant accumulates seleniumSelenium
Selenium is a chemical element with atomic number 34, chemical symbol Se, and an atomic mass of 78.96. It is a nonmetal, whose properties are intermediate between those of adjacent chalcogen elements sulfur and tellurium...
from the soil. It has also been shown to harbor a selenium-metabolizing Bacillus
Bacillus
Bacillus is a genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria and a member of the division Firmicutes. Bacillus species can be obligate aerobes or facultative anaerobes, and test positive for the enzyme catalase. Ubiquitous in nature, Bacillus includes both free-living and pathogenic species...
species in its seed pods.