Plant Guide

Astragalus canadensis L.
Canadian milkvetch
ASCA11

Summary
Duration	Perennial
Growth Habit	Forb/herb
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator	FACU, FACW

Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Spring, Summer, Fall
After Harvest Regrowth Rate	Moderate
Bloat	None
C:N Ratio	Medium
Coppice Potential	No
Fall Conspicuous	No
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	White
Flower Conspicuous	Yes
Foliage Color	Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Porous
Foliage Porosity Winter	Porous
Foliage Texture	Fine
Fruit/Seed Color	Brown
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	No
Growth Form	Stoloniferous
Growth Rate	Moderate
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)
Height, Mature (feet)	0.5
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	No
Lifespan	Short
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation
Resprout Ability	No
Shape and Orientation	Prostrate
Toxicity	Slight

Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	No
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	No
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	Medium
CaCO3 Tolerance	Low
Cold Stratification Required	No
Drought Tolerance	Medium
Fertility Requirement	Medium
Fire Tolerance	High
Frost Free Days, Minimum	175
Hedge Tolerance	None
Moisture Use	Medium
pH, Minimum	6
pH, Maximum	8
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum
Precipitation, Minimum	20
Precipitation, Maximum	50
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	10
Salinity Tolerance	None
Shade Tolerance	Intolerant
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	-38

Reproduction
Bloom Period	Mid Summer
Commercial Availability	Routinely Available
Fruit/Seed Abundance	Low
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Summer
Fruit/Seed Period End	Fall
Fruit/Seed Persistence	No
Propagated by Bare Root	No
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	No
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	No
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	No
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	120000
Seed Spread Rate	Slow
Seedling Vigor	Medium
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	Slow

Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	No
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	Yes
Fuelwood Product	None
Lumber Product	No
Naval Store Product	No
Nursery Stock Product	No
Palatable Browse Animal	Low
Palatable Graze Animal	Low
Palatable Human	No
Post Product	No
Protein Potential	Medium
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

Kingdom Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons

Subclass Rosidae

Order Fabales

Family Fabaceae -- Pea family

Genus Astragalus L. -- milkvetch P

Species Astragalus canadensis L. -- Canadian milkvetch P

Alternate Names

Canada milk-vetch, Canada milkvetch

Uses

Ethnobotanic: The Blackfoot, who dug them in the spring for eating (Kindscher 1987), gathered Canadian milkvetch roots. Canadian milkvetch was often used in a broth (Moerman 1998).

Medical: The root is analgesic and antihaemorrhagic and can be chewed or used as a tea to treat chest and back pains, coughs and spiting up of blood (Moerman 1998). A poultice made from the chewed root has also been used to treat cuts (Ibid.).

Status

Please consult the Plants Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status, such as, state noxious status and wetland indicator values.

Description

General: Bean family (Fabaceae). Canadian milkvetch (Astragalus canadensis) is a smooth, stout-stemmed plant that grows up to five feet tall (Ladd 1995). The leaves are smooth; elliptic to oblong, with thirteen to thirty-one stalked leaflets that are one to two inches long. The flowers are greenish white to cream colored, with a regular pea flower shape, located at the ends of long stalks. The fruit is a smooth, erect, stout, woody pod, twelve to fifteen millimeters long and divided into two cells (Vance, Jowsey, & McLean 1984).

Distribution: Astragalus canadensis ranges from Quebec and Vermont to Hudson Bay and British Columbia, south to Virginia, West Virginia, Arkansas, Texas and Colorado (Steyermark 1963). For current distribution, please consult the Plant profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

Adaptation

Canadian milkvetch is commonly found in dry prairies, moist shores, riverbanks, marshy grounds and open or partly shaded ground (Voss 1985). This species requires a well-drained soil in a sunny position. It has low tolerance of root disturbance and cannot tolerate extremely cold weather.

Establishment

Propagation by Seed: Canadian milkvetch seeds should be sown in a cold frame as soon as they are ripe. Seeds should be pre-soaked for twenty-four hours in hot water before sowing. Germination can be slow but is usually within four to nine weeks if the seeds are sown fresh. When they are large enough to handle, place the seedlings into individual pots and grow plant them in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them into their permanent positions in spring or early summer.

Management

Canadian milkvetch looks similar to some closely related poisonous locoweeds, so its use is not recommended unless positive identification can be made (Kindscher 1987). Many members of this genus contain a poison that affects cattle (Fielder 1975). They become affected with a sort of insanity, a slow poisoning that can cause death within a period of months or even a year or two (Ibid).

Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Materials are somewhat available from native plant seed vendors. Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone book under ”United States Government”. The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading “Department of Agriculture.”

References

Braun, L.E. 1967. The monocotyledoneae from cat-tails to orchids. The Ohio State University Press, Columbus, Ohio.

Britton, N.L. & A. Brown 1970. An illustrated flora of the northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, New York, New York.

Bruggen, T. V. 1976. The vascular plants of South Dakota. The Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa.

Fielder, M. 1975. Plant medicine and folklore. Winchester Press, New York, New York.

Gleason, H. A. & A. Cronquist 1993. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. 2^nd ed. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York.

Kindscher, K. 1987. An ethnobotanical guide: edible wild plants of the prairie. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.

Moerman, D. 1998. Native American ethnobotany. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon.

Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, & C.R. Bell 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Straughbaugh, P. D. & E. L. Core 1977. Flora of West Virginia. 2^nd ed. Seneca Books, Inc., Morgantown, West Virginia.

The Great Plains Flora Association 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.

Tiner, R.W. Jr. 1987. A field guide to coastal wetland plants of the northeastern United States. The University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, Massachusetts.

Voss, E.G. 1972. Michigan flora. Cranbrok Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, & University of Michigan Herbarium.

Prepared By

Lincoln M. Moore

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Species Coordinator

Lincoln M. Moore

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Edited: 05apr02 ahv; 25feb03 ahv; 31may06jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>

Attribution: U.S. Department of Agriculture