Astragalus applegatei
Encyclopedia
Astragalus applegatei is a rare species of milkvetch
known by the common name Applegate's milkvetch. It is endemic to Klamath County, Oregon
, where it is known from three populations, one of which is made up of only three plants. Much of the remaining habitat is seriously threatened by development, introduced plant species
, and other forces. This is a federally listed endangered species
of the United States.
The plant is a perennial herb with clustered or spreading prostrate stems growing from a taproot
. It may form mats nearly a metre wide and up to 40 cm tall. The leaves are up to 8 cm long and are each made up of several pairs of leaflets 1 or 2 cm long. The inflorescence
is a raceme
of nodding flowers. The flower has a cuplike, toothed calyx of sepal
s coated in black hairs. The corolla is whitish to lavender with purple tips on the petals. The fruit is a purple-mottled legume pod roughly 1 cm long.
The native habitat of the plant is a seasonally wet floodplain
with alkali soils
, part of the Klamath Basin
.
The largest of the three populations is on land which is partially owned and protected by The Nature Conservancy
, but the other part is vulnerable to development. The second and third populations are very small and may not survive as they become inbred
. There was once a fourth population, but it was destroyed when its habitat was made into a grocery store
and a car dealership
.
Astragalus
Astragalus is a large genus of about 3,000 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...
known by the common name Applegate's milkvetch. It is endemic to Klamath County, Oregon
Klamath County, Oregon
-National protected areas:* Bear Valley National Wildlife Refuge* Crater Lake National Park * Deschutes National Forest * Fremont National Forest * Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge* Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge...
, where it is known from three populations, one of which is made up of only three plants. Much of the remaining habitat is seriously threatened by development, introduced plant species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
, and other forces. This is a federally listed endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
of the United States.
The plant is a perennial herb with clustered or spreading prostrate stems growing from a taproot
Taproot
A taproot is an enlarged, somewhat straight to tapering plant root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally.Plants with taproots are difficult to transplant...
. It may form mats nearly a metre wide and up to 40 cm tall. The leaves are up to 8 cm long and are each made up of several pairs of leaflets 1 or 2 cm long. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of nodding flowers. The flower has a cuplike, toothed calyx of sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s coated in black hairs. The corolla is whitish to lavender with purple tips on the petals. The fruit is a purple-mottled legume pod roughly 1 cm long.
The native habitat of the plant is a seasonally wet floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
with alkali soils
Alkali soils
Alkali, or alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH , a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico-chemical properties mainly to the dominating presence of sodium carbonate...
, part of the Klamath Basin
Klamath Basin
The Klamath Basin is the region in the U.S. states of Oregon and California drained by the Klamath River. It contains most of Klamath County and parts of Lake and Jackson counties in Oregon, and parts of Del Norte, Humboldt, Modoc, Siskiyou, and Trinity counties in California. The drainage basin...
.
The largest of the three populations is on land which is partially owned and protected by The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
, but the other part is vulnerable to development. The second and third populations are very small and may not survive as they become inbred
Inbreeding
Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...
. There was once a fourth population, but it was destroyed when its habitat was made into a grocery store
Grocery store
A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...
and a car dealership
Car dealership
A car dealership or vehicle local distribution is a business that sells new or used cars at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. It employs automobile salespeople to do the selling...
.