Plants and Animals
Astragalus canadensis Canadian milk vetch
Key Characteristics
Tall perennial forb (up to 1.5 m) of forest, savanna, and glade habitats; arising from a rhizome, leafy branching stems bear compound leaves with 15-35 small (1-4 cm) elliptic leaflets; flowers white; fruit an ovoid pod 4-7 mm thick.
Status and Rank
US Status: No Status/Not Listed
State Status: SC - Special Concern (rare or uncertain; not legally protected)
Global Rank: G5 - Secure
State Rank: S1S2 - Rank is uncertain, ranging from critically imperiled to imperiled
Occurrences
| County | Number of Occurrences | Year Last Observed |
|---|---|---|
| Alger | 1 | 1993 |
| Berrien | 1 | 1917 |
| Delta | 4 | 2021 |
| Kalamazoo | 2 | 1945 |
| Kent | 1 | 1901 |
| Lapeer | 1 | 1911 |
| Lenawee | 1 | 1916 |
| Livingston | 2 | 1921 |
| Montcalm | 1 | 1900 |
| Oakland | 1 | 1914 |
| Ontonagon | 13 | 2021 |
| Oscoda | 2 | 2002 |
| St. Clair | 1 | 2011 |
| St. Joseph | 2 | 1954 |
| Washtenaw | 3 | 1990 |
Information is summarized from MNFI's database of rare species and community occurrences. Data may not reflect true distribution since much of the state has not been thoroughly surveyed.
Habitat
Occurs in a variety of habitats including oak barrens, open areas in rich, moist soil over limestone, moist openings, wet ground, and sandy lake shores. Numerous old records have limited habitat data. In addition to the natural communities listed below, the species may occur in lakeplain oak openings, lakeplain wet-mesic prairie, and mesic sand prairie.
Natural Community Types
- Alvar
- Boreal forest
- Dry southern forest
- Dry-mesic northern forest
- Dry-mesic prairie
- Dry-mesic southern forest
- Floodplain forest
- Hillside prairie
- Limestone bedrock glade
- Limestone cobble shore
- Mesic northern forest
- Mesic prairie
- Northern shrub thicket
- Oak barrens
- Oak openings
- Oak-pine barrens
- Pine barrens
For each species, lists of natural communities were derived from review of the nearly 6,500 element occurrences in the MNFI database, in addition to herbarium label data for some taxa. In most cases, at least one specimen record exists for each listed natural community. For certain taxa, especially poorly collected or extirpated species of prairie and savanna habitats, natural community lists were derived from inferences from collection sites and habitat preferences in immediately adjacent states (particularly Indiana and Illinois). Natural communities are not listed for those species documented only from altered or ruderal habitats in Michigan, especially for taxa that occur in a variety of habitats outside of the state.
Natural communities are not listed in order of frequency of occurrence, but are rather derived from the full set of natural communities, organized by Ecological Group. In many cases, the general habitat descriptions should provide greater clarity and direction to the surveyor. In future versions of the Rare Species Explorer, we hope to incorporate natural community fidelity ranks for each taxon.
Associated Plants
The little data that exists suggests this species may occur with white oak, red cedar, hawthorn, smooth brome, queen anne's-lace, yarrow, Canada goldenrod, mouse-ear chickweed, sweet clover, tick-trefoil, asters, and Cooper's milk-vetch.
Management Recommendations
Status of the species very poorly known in the state. Most records are very old, but even new records give little data on habitat and condition. The primary need for this species is to conduct status survey and accumulate better data on habitat and populations.
Survey Methods
Random meander search covers areas that appear likely to have rare taxa, based on habitat and the judgment of the investigator.
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Meander search
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Survey Period: From first week of July to fourth week of August
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References
Survey References
- Elzinga, C.L., D.W. Salzer, and J.W. Willoughby. 1998. Measuring and Monitoring Plant Populations. The Nature Conservancy and Bureau of Land Management, Denver. BLM Technical Reference 1730-1. 477pp.
- Goff, G.F., G.A. Dawson, and J.J. Rochow. 1982. Site examination for Threatened and Endangered plant species. Environmental Management 6(4): 307-316
- Nelson, J.R. 1984. Rare Plant Field Survey Guidelines. In: J.P. Smith and R. York. Inventory of rare and endangered vascular plants of California. 3rd Ed. California Native Plant Society, Berkeley. 174pp.
- Nelson, J.R. 1986. Rare Plant Surveys: Techniques For Impact Assessment. Natural Areas Journal 5(3):18-30.
- Nelson, J.R. 1987. Rare Plant Surveys: Techniques for Impact Assessment. In: Conservation and management of rare and endangered plants. Ed. T.S. Elias. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento. 8pp.
Technical References
- Gleason, H. A., and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second edition. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx. 910pp.
- Gray, A. 1950. Gray's Manual of Botany; eighth ed. Van Nostrand Reinghold, New York. 1632pp.
- Holmgren, N.H. 1998. Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist's Manual. Illustrations of the vascular plants of Northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx. 937pp.
- Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region, 4th ed. Indiana Academy of Science, Indianapolis. 921pp.
- Voss, E. G. 1985. Michigan Flora. Part II. Dicots (Saururaceae-Cornaceae). Bulletin of the Cranbrook Institute of Science and University of Michigan Herbarium. 724pp.