Illinois Natural History Survey - University of Illinois

Astragalus tennesseensis
Tennessee milk vetch
Taxonomy

Synonyms:

Subspecific taxa:

Classification:

  • Magnoliophyta

Other taxonomic & nomenclature sources: USDA Plants;  ITIS;  The Plant List;  IPNI

Species Distribution
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More about map & occurrence records

County Map Legend
Absent:
Not known from county
Medium confidence:
Medium or unknown confidence;
often old records or unverifiable observations
Medium-high confidence:
Often observations by expert botanists
High confidence:
Often vouchered herbarium records
Planted / introduced:
Native species introduced outside historic range,
or only in planted locations within county (e.g., restorations)
Historic / extirpated:
Only historic records for the species; likely extirpated
(Note that this category is not yet functional)

North American distribution maps for this species: FLNA;  USDA Plants;  BONAP;  BISON

Collections, Observations & Flowering by Month [?]

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F
0
M
0
A
0
M
0
J
0
J
0
A
0
S
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O
0
N
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D
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Collections & Observations by Decade [?]

Species Status

Status/Listing: State Endangered

Notes:

Origin: Native

Species Description

General: Dicot-herb, perennial

Roots: primary

Shoots: alternate leaf arrangment; compound, pinnately leaf type; entire leaf margin; Pinnate leaf venation; linear leaf shape

Inflorescence: raceme

Flowers: perfect; 5 merous; complete, irregular; white; perigynous ovary position

Fruit: legume

Physiology: autotrophic; C3 C02 fixation

Reproduction: sexual

Ecology & Natural History

Habitat: Occurs only in the only known remaining high-quality dry gravel prairie on pleistocene gravel terrace deposits of the Illinois River valley in central Illinois. West facing gravel river bluff dominant grasses: Andropogon scoparius Sorghastrum nutans, Bouteloua curtipendula, Bouteloua hirsuta, Petalostemum purpureum, and Asclepias verticillata.

ILPIN Notes: Kurz, D.R. and M.L. Bowles. 1981. Report on the Status of Illinois Vascular Plants Potentially Endangered or Threatened in the United States. Natural Land Institute. Rockford, IL. Baskin, C. C., J. M. Baskin, and E. Quarterman. 1972. Observations on the ecology of Astragalus tennesseensis. American Midland Naturalist 88: 167- 182. Pods ovoid, pubescent.

Functional Relationships:

  • Pollinators: insect, bee
  • Dispersal: gravity
  • Mycorrhizae:
  • N2 fixation:

Human Relationships:

  • Edibility [?] :
  • Showy Flowers:

Wildlife and Livestock Information:

  • Food Value:
  • Cover Value:

Coefficient of Conservatism (C-value) [?] :

  • Entire State: 10
  • Chicago Area: 10

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