Astragalus Totally Explained

Everything about Astragalus totally explained

Astragalus (As-trá-ga-lus) is a large genus of about 2,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names include milk-vetch (most species) and goat's-thorn (A. gummifera, A. tragacanthus). Some pale-flowered vetches are similar in appearance, but vetches are more vine-like.

Host for insects

Astragalus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the following case-bearers of the genus Coleophora: C. astragalella (feeds exclusively on A. glycyphyllos), C. cartilaginella (feeds exclusively on Astragalus), C. colutella, C. euryaula (feeds exclusively on Astragalus), C. gallipennella (feeds exclusively on A. glycyphyllos), C. hippodromica (feeds exclusively on A. gombo), C. onobrychiella (feeds exclusively on Astragalus), C. polonicella (feeds exclusively on A. arenarius) and C. vicinella.

Medicinal use

Astragalus propinquus (also known as Astragalus membranaceus) has a history of use as an herbal medicine, and the biotechnology firms Geron Corporation and TA Sciences have been working on deriving a telomerase activator from it.

Ornamental use

Several species, including A. alpinus (bluish-purple flowers), A. hypoglottis (purple flowers) and A. lotoides, are grown as ornamental plants in gardens.

Selected species

(See external references)

Astragalus adsurgens - Standing milk-vetch
Astragalus agrestis - Field milk vetch, Purple milk-vetch, Cock's-head
Astragalus alopecuroides
Astragalus alpinus - Alpine milk vetch
Astragalus angustifolius
Astragalus arenarius
Astragalus aristatus
Astragalus atropilosulus
Astragalus azizi
Astragalus baionensis
Astragalus barrii - Barr's milk vetch
Astragalus bibullatus - Limestone-glade milk-vetch
Astragalus bisulcatus - Two-groove milk-vetch
Astragalus boeticus
Astragalus canadensis - Canadian milk-vetch
Astragalus centralpinus
Astragalus christianus
Astragalus cicer - Wild Lentil, Chickpea milk-vetch
Astragalus coccineus - Scarlet milk-vetch
Astragalus crassicarpus (caryocarpus) - Ground-plum, Buffalo Plum
Astragalus danicus
Astragalus debequaeus - Debeque milk-vetch
Astragalus depressus
Astragalus echinus
Astragalus eriocarpus
Astragalus exscapus
Astragalus frigidus - American milk-vetch, Arctic milk-vetch
Astragalus galegiformis
Astragalus gilviflorus - Plains milk-vetch, Plains orophaca
Astragalus glycyphyllos - Wild Liquorice, Licorice milk-vetch
Astragalus gummifera
Astragalus hypoglottis - Field milk-vetch, Purple milk-vetch, Cock's-head
Astragalus illyricus Illirian milk-vetch
Astragalus lemmonii - Lemmon's milk-vetch
Astragalus lentiginosus - Freckled milk-vetch
Astragalus leontinus
Astragalus lusitanicus
Astragalus lotoides
Astragalus massiliensis
Astragalus missouriensis - Missouri milk-vetch
Astragalus monspessulanus
Astragalus naturitensis - Naturita milk-vetch
Astragalus newberryi - Newberry's milk-vetch
Astragalus norvegicus
Astragalus nuttallii - Nuttall's milk-vetch
Astragalus onobrychis
Astragalus penduliflorus
Astragalus propinquus (membranaceus) - Huang qi
Astragalus purshii - Pursh's milk-vetch, Woolly-pod milk-vetch
Astragalus sclerocarpus - Sicklepod milk-vetch
Astragalus sempervirens
Astragalus shinanensis
Astragalus shiroumaensis
Astragalus sirinicus
Astragalus spatulatus - Tufted milk-vetch, Draba milk-vetch
Astragalus tennesseensis - Tennessee milk vetch
Astragalus trichopodus - Santa Barbara milk-vetch
Astragalus tridactylus - Foothill milk-vetch
Astragalus tragacanthus
Astragalus vogelii

External references

Astragalus

Astralagus information

Large list of species

Astragalus at a Glance

This fact sheet from the U.S. National Institutes of Health provides basic information about astragalus--common names, uses, potential side effects, and resources for more information.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Astragalus'.

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