Angiosperms: Dicotyledons

Fabaceae
Legume Family

• Notes:

  Astragalus lotiflorus is much smaller than A. crassicarpus with short sprawling stems (3” long) that are hairy and branching at ground level from a large rootstock. The leaves are similar with slightly smaller leaflets (1/2” by 3/16”). The inflorescence is similar with slightly smaller pale red (to white) flowers. The calyx is very hairy. The fruits are elongate (3/4” by 3/16”), inflated, hairy, and darkening to reddish brown to tan at maturity. Flowering is from early to late May, and fruiting begins in late May. A. lotiflorus is frequent on dry, gravelly, and Loess Hills prairies.

  Bent milk vetch, A. distortus T. & G., with tiny leaflets, purple flowers, and smaller fruits, but similar in general growth pattern to A. lotiflorus, is very infrequent on dry and sandy habitats.

• Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Vascular Plants of Iowa