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Fabaceae FAMILY

Astragalus canadensis

Astragalus canadensis

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 canadensis is a herbaceous, perennial plant producing a cluster of upright, branched or unbranched stems up to 100cm tall[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and a food.

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate
Native RangeN. America - British Colombia and Northwest Territiroes to Quebec, south to California and Georgia
HabitatShores and rich thickets[ 43 Title Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition Publication Author Fernald. M. L. Publisher American Book Co.; New York Year 1950 ISBN 0442222505 Description A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America. ]. Rocky and sandy thickets in Texas[ 274 Title Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas Publication Author Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J Website http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm Publisher Botanical Research Institute, Texas. Year 1999 ISBN 1-889878-01-4 Description An excellent flora, which is also available on-line. ].