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Beckwith's Astragalus
A member of the Pea Family, the Beckwith's Astragalus (Astragalus
beckwithii), is another of our spring blooming foothill flowers.
It has racemes of lavender flowers, and green leaves.
In "Mountain Plants of Northeastern Utah", a publication from Utah State
University, it says: "Legumes, members of the pea family, include beans,
peas, clovers, etc. Ours have the characteristic pea-shaped blossoms and
legume pods. Their leaves are compound. Astragalus is a common legume genus
in our area. As a group, they are quite dangerous to livestock. Animals
seem to develop an addiction to the plant which produces a type of incurable
insanity called locoing. Beckwith's Astragalus grows in clumps 6 to 8 inches
high on dry gravelly slopes. It blooms in June with racemes of flowers that
may be blue, yellow or lavender. At maturity the pods are yellow with pale
brown mottling.
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