Fabaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Astragalus crassicarpus

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

2/5

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 crassicarpus is a low-growing, herbaceous perennial plant producing a number of sprawling stems 10 - 50cm long[ 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. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. The species is widespread and common in its natural range. There are no major known threats to the species and the population is believed to be stable. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeWestern N. America - British Colombia to Manitoba, south to Arizona and Texas

HabitatPrairies and plains[ 60 Title Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. Publication Author Hitchcock. C. L. Publisher University of Washington Press Year 1955 ISBN - Description A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader. ]. Dry rocky or gravelly prairies, slight slopes in clearing of woods, disturbed sites such as roadsides, in partial sun and is most abundant on limestone or clay soils; at elevations from 150 - 1,800 metres[ 38 Title Simmons' Manual of Fruit. Publication Author Simmons A. E. Publisher David & Charles; Newton Abbot. Year 1978 ISBN 0-7153-7607-1 Description A good guide to some of the cultivars of temperate fruits. It covers quite a wide range of fruits. ]..