Fabaceae FAMILY

Astragalus carduchorum

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

Many members of this genus contain toxic glycosides[ 65 Title A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Publication Author Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. Publisher Wolfe Year 1984 ISBN 0723408394 Description Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far. ]. A number of species can accumulate toxic levels of selenium when grown in soils that are relatively rich in that element[ 65 Title A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Publication Author Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. Publisher Wolfe Year 1984 ISBN 0723408394 Description Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far. ]. All species with edible seedpods can be distinguished by their fleshy round or oval seedpod that looks somewhat like a greengage.[ 85 Title Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. Publication Author Harrington. H. D. Publisher University of New Mexico Press Year 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9 Description A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants. ]

Botanical Description

Astragalus carduchorum is a thorny, low-growing deciduous shrub, loosely branched from the base, growing 20 - 30cm tall[ 1086 Title Systematic revision of Astragalus sect. Adiaspastus, sect. Macrophyllium and sect. Pterophorus (Fabaceae) Publication Englera 18 Author Shahin Zarre-Mobarakeh Website http://www.bgbm.fu-berlin.de Publisher Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem, Germany Year 2000 ISBN 3-921800-42-0 Description An extensive revision of three gum-producing sections of the genus Astragalus, though it does not include section Rhacophorus, which is the main commercial producer of Gum Tragacanth ]. This plant is one of the many species of Astragalus that produce tragacanth gum - a substance with many uses in medicine, as a food additive and in industry. This species usually produces low quantities of gum[ 1086 Title Systematic revision of Astragalus sect. Adiaspastus, sect. Macrophyllium and sect. Pterophorus (Fabaceae) Publication Englera 18 Author Shahin Zarre-Mobarakeh Website http://www.bgbm.fu-berlin.de Publisher Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem, Germany Year 2000 ISBN 3-921800-42-0 Description An extensive revision of three gum-producing sections of the genus Astragalus, though it does not include section Rhacophorus, which is the main commercial producer of Gum Tragacanth ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeW. Asia - Iraq, Iran

HabitatRocky metamorphic mountain slopes and in the sub-alpine cushion-thorn zone[ 114 Title The Plant Wealth of Iraq. Publication Author Chakravarty. H. L. Publisher Year ISBN Description It is surprising how many of these plants can be grown in Britain. A very readable book on the useful plants of Iraq. ]. Found at elevations from 1,400 - 2,500 metres[ 1086 Title Systematic revision of Astragalus sect. Adiaspastus, sect. Macrophyllium and sect. Pterophorus (Fabaceae) Publication Englera 18 Author Shahin Zarre-Mobarakeh Website http://www.bgbm.fu-berlin.de Publisher Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem, Germany Year 2000 ISBN 3-921800-42-0 Description An extensive revision of three gum-producing sections of the genus Astragalus, though it does not include section Rhacophorus, which is the main commercial producer of Gum Tragacanth ].