Blue/Purple Milkvetch (12)

Field Milkvetch
Astragalus agrestis

Family: Pea (Fabaceae)
AKA: Purple Milkvetch, Purple Loco
Picture taken on: June 9, 2004
Location: Almont, CO
Life Zones: Foothills and montane
Habitat: Moist meadows, woodlands, openings

Grows to 12" in clumps with soft, green leaves. Flowers grow in a tight cluster at the top of the stem and have short, black hairs on the calyx.

Alpine Milkvetch
Astragalus alpinus

Family: Pea (Fabacea)
AKA:
Picture taken on: June 16, 2007
Location: Copper Creek Trail, GV, CO
Life Zones: Montane to alpine
Habitat: Moist, shady meadows

Grows to 10" in patches of many plants. Leaves arch from the base. Flowers are white to purple.

Freckled Milkvetch
Astragalus lentiginosus

Family: Pea (Fabaceae)
AKA: Speckled Milkvetch
Picture taken on: April 26, 2010
Location: White Rock, NM
Life Zones: Foothills
Habitat: Roadsides, openings

Grows to 16" in a sprawling mass of reddish stems, hairless, greyish-green leaves and pink-purple flowers.  It is a very variable species. The experts have identified 35-38 varieties. These are two.

Picture taken on: April 26, 2014
Location: Abiquiui, NM

Seed pods are plump, smooth and grooved and not always freckled.

Slimpod Milkvetch
Astragalus leptocarpus

Family: Pea (Fabaceae)
AKA: Rare Loco Milkvetch, Bodkin Milkvetch
Picture taken on: August 8, 2019
Location: Russell Lakes State Wildlife Area, SLV, CO
Life Zones: Plains to foothills
Habitat: Meadows, open woodlands

Grows weakly upright to about 12" high with stems up 10" long. Leaves have few hairs and are divided into 15 pointed or slightly notched lance-shaped leaflets (7mm long). Purple and white flowers are tiny, no more than 3/8" wide and high, and grow in a round cluster of 7 to 12 flowers on erect stems above the leaves. The calyx is white/green with black hairs and pointed teeth.  Pod is slender and about ¼" long.

I am not 100% sure about this identification and went back and forth between this and Astragalus nuttallianus var. nuttallianus. Based on my research and this description from the NYBG which closer described these plants, I decided on this ID.  Both plants are native to Texas, not Colorado, but this extensive patch was growing in a moist area near a car park used by horse trailers from Texas. The plants were quite robust and had as many as 15 flowers in the flower head, many more than any variety of A. nuttallianus.

Missouri Milkvetch
Astragalus missouriensis

Family: Pea (Fabaceae)
AKA: Purple Milkvetch
Picture taken on: April 28, 2010
Location: White Rock, NM
Life Zones: Plains to foothills
Habitat: Dry openings in pinyon- juniper and sagebrush

Grows sprawling to 5". Leaflets are silvery-green and oval, arching or laying on the ground. Flowers are up to 1" long and are purple with a white splash. Seedpods are 1" long, slightly hairy and slightly curved.

Leadville Milkvetch
Astragalus molybdenus

Family: Pea (Fabaceae)
AKA:
Picture taken on: July 2, 2010
Location: Cottonwood Pass Rd, CO
Life Zones: Subalpine and alpine
Habitat: Forest floor

Low growing. Tiny lavender flowers have white stripes on the banner. Hairy, small, grayish-green leaves have folded leaflets.

Many-flowered Milkvetch
Astragalus multiflorus (A. tenellus)

Family: Pea (Fabaceae)
AKA:
Picture taken on: June 10, 2006
Location: Jack's Cabin Cutoff, GV, CO
Life Zones: Foothills to montane
Habitat: Openings, roadsides, woodlands

Growing to 1 foot high with bright green, narrow, oblong leaflets and many small purple flowers. The seed pods are small and flat with black sepals.

Identified from SWColoradoWildflowers. I am unclear whether this is the same species as Loose-flower Milkvetch also named A. tenellus which I identified from Northern Prairie Research Center.

Small-flowered Milkvetch
Astragalus nuttallianus var. austrinus

Family: Pea (Fabaceae)
AKA: Turkeypeas
Picture taken on: April 29, 2010
Location: White Rock Canyon, NM
Life Zones: Foothills
Habitat: Dry areas, openings

Grows to 1 foot high but can be sprawling. It has a few tiny purple and white flowers at the top of the reddish stem. Leaflets are green with hairs on the upper edges. Seed pods are red.

Turkeypeas
Astragalus nuttallianus var. micranthiformis

Family: Pea (Fabaceae)
AKA:
Picture taken on: May 7, 2014
Location: Plaza Blanca, Abiquiu, NM
Life Zones: Plains and foothills
Habitat: Sandy openings

Grows from 1" to several inches in a mat or erect. Leaves are on long stems and have 7-15 leaflets. Tiny flowers have purple banners with a white center. Seed pods are red and slightly curved.

Bodin's Milkvetch
Astragalus bodinii

Family: Pea (Fabaceae)
AKA:
Picture taken on: July 2, 2010
Location: Cottonwood Pass Rd, CO
Life Zones: Montane and subalpine
Habitat: Moist meadows, forest floors, roadsides

Growing just below timberline at the roadside. Low growing forming a mat with spreading reddish stems. Leaves are light green, slightly hairy with 13-15 leaflets. Tiny lavender flowers have white stripes on the banner but are bigger than A. molybdenus which was growing in the same area.

Torrey's Milkvetch
Astragalus calycosus

Family: Pea (Fabaceae)
AKA:
Picture taken on: May 6, 2017
Location: Chaco Culture NHP, NM
Life Zones: Foothills and montane
Habitat: Open, rocky areas

Not strictly from the Southern Rocky Mountains, it is found more to the west. A low growing plant, up to 5" high, forming a round mat. Leaves are silvery and hairy. Flowers are about ½" long and have purple banners and white wings.

Fisher Towers Milkvetch
Astragalus piscator

Family: Pea (Fabaceae)
AKA:
Picture taken on: May 10, 2010
Location: Little Wildhorse Canyon, UT
Life Zones: Foothills
Habitat: Dry, sandy, rocky areas

Grows to three inches high with 5 to 11 pairs of small, hairy leaflets. Flower banner is pale lilac striped, the wings purple. Seed pods are curved and purple speckled.

Identified from Colorado Rare Plant Guide.