Home/Species/ Cusick's Milkvetch

Astragalus cusickii

Gray

Cusick's Milkvetch

G5Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.143836

Element CodePDFAB0F2N0

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassDicotyledoneae

OrderFabales

FamilyFabaceae

GenusAstragalus

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Taxonomic Comments

This record is for the broad treatment of Astragalus cusickii, as recognized in Welsh's treatment in FNA (2023) which maintains four varieties: var. flexilipes, var. sterilis, var. packardiae, and the typical. However, that treatment mentions that justification exists to recognize three distinct species. The source referenced, Zimmers et al. (2017) find that Astragalus cusickii vars. pakardiae and sterilis are supported as distinct at the species level using phylogenetic analyses and the genealogic sorting index, in addition to their morphological variation which they found unlikely to stem exclusively from the differing edaphic conditions of their locations. They did not find similar support for the distinction of var. flexilipes, maintaining it as a variety of A. cusickii.

Conservation Status

Review Date1986-07-14

Change Date1986-07-14

Ecology & Habitat

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Idaho	S4	Yes
Oregon	SNR	Yes
Washington	S5	Yes

Plant Characteristics

Economic Value (Genus)Yes

Roadless Areas (2)

Oregon (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Joseph Canyon	Wallowa-Whitman National Forest	24,288
Snake River	Wallowa-Whitman National Forest	31,229

References (3)

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2023. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 11. Magnoliophyta: Fabaceae, parts 1+2. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxvii + 1108 pp.
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Zimmers, J.C, M. Thomas, L. Yang, A. Bombarely, M.M. Mancuso, M.F. Wojciechowski, J.F. Smith. 2017.<br/>Species boundaries in the <i>Astragalus cusickii</i> complex delimited using molecular phylogenetic techniques. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 114:93-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2017.06.004.