THE BULGARIAN FLORA ONLINE
THE BULGARIAN FLORA ONLINE
(Click on the pictures to see them in larger size)
Indian Milkvetch.
Astragalus australis (L.) Lam.
NOT protected species in Bulgaria.
Astragalus australis is a perennial herb.
Stems ascending (3) 10-20 cm long, simple or weakly branched, with short internodes, glabrous or finely appressed scattered hairs.
Stipules 4-10 mm long, membranous, triangular-ovate or lanceolate, fused to each other and to the petioles, white or blackish pubescent.
Leaves 2-7 (10) cm long, glabrous or pubescent. Petioles considerably shorter than the leaf axis.
Leaflets 4-6 (9) pairs, 6-14 mm long and (2) 3-7 mm wide, narrowly lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, rarely elliptic, acute, glabrous beneath, rarely densely appressed fibrous on both sides.
Inflorescences 2.5-3 cm long, axillary, racemose, ovate, loose, composed of 8 to 16 flowers; peduncles equal to or up to 2 times longer than the bract leaves, glabrous or pubescent, white or black fibrous under the raceme.
Flowers 10 to 15 mm long with 1-2 mm long peduncles.
Bracts 3-6 mm long, linear, less often linear-lanceolate, covered like the calyx with dense, brown or black hairs.
Calyx 4-7 mm long, tubular-bell-shaped, with black hairs, with triangular-lanceolate, sharp teeth, equal to 1/2 of the length of the tube, preserved in the legume.
Corolla bicolor, yellowish-white or white with dark violet tips of the keel and banner.
Banner (9) 10-15 mm long, elliptical, at the apex incised.
Wings 8-12 mm long, at the apex bifid or deeply incised.
Keel 7-8 mm long, shorter and wider than the wings.
Carpels with pedicel, glabrous.
Legume 10-30 mm long and 5-9 mm wide, oblong-ovate to elliptical, membranous, swollen, glabrous, with thin pedicel, equal in length to the calyx or 2 times longer than it, at the apex with a straight, awl-shaped, 1-1.5 cm long beak, on the ventral and dorsal sides ridged (sometimes only on the ventral side concave).
Seeds 2 to 10 in number, globose-reniform with marble patterns1.
Flowering June-July.
Wet rocky places in the high mountain belt, mainly on calcareous terrains2.
Middle Stara Planina (Mazalat, Balabana, Chatalcham and Sokola peaks - Gabrovo Balkan), Pirin (Kamenishki Dol), Rila (Seven Rila Lakes and Cherni Vrah), from 2000 up to 2700 m alt3.
Map of general distribution4:
1 Кузманов, Б. 1976. Във: Флора на Народна Република България. Том VI. София.
2 Кузманов, Б. 1976. Във: Флора на Народна Република България. Том VI. София.
3 Кузманов, Б. 1976. Във: Флора на Народна Република България. Том VI. София.
4 Astragalus australis (L.) Lam. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science
The theory of evolution is a lie!