Astragalus adsurgens seed
LATIN NAME: ASTRAGALUS ADSURGENS
COMMON NAME: Standing Milk-vetch
On the dry plains and the slopes of the north, the standing milk-vetch grows as a clumping, perennial herb with the pinnate leaves of many narrow leaflets and the dense, upright spikes of small, blue-violet, pea-like flowers that open from the base upwards in the summer, the short, beaked pods following. It spreads steadily into a leafy clump, and it stands the bitter cold, the drought and the poor, sandy soils well. Full sun is ideal, in deep, fertile ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The standing milk-vetch comes up in the studies of the range legumes of the north, its blue-violet spikes and its deep roots keeping it in view in the work on the soil-improving plants of the dry plains and the forage legumes of the region. The research looks at the way the deep roots anchor the soil, the blue spikes feed the bees, and the seed biology of the hard-coated seeds.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
In the dryland planting and the erosion slope, the standing milk-vetch lifts the blue-violet spikes above the leafy clump and fixes the nitrogen that feeds the thin soils of the plains. The hardy legume has long been sown to hold the eroding slopes, and the plant makes the fine soil-improving legume, the forage plant and the plant of the cold, dry garden. It is a plant for the open, sunny, deep and free-draining place.
To grow the Standing Milk-vetch from seed, rub the hard seeds on sandpaper, soak them in warm water overnight, then sow them.
Rub the hard seeds on sandpaper, soak them in warm water overnight, then sow them, and keep the young milk-vetches in the open, sunny spot. in pots of sandy soil, keep them lightly watered, and the young milk-vetches rise in the full sun. The blue spikes open with the summer.
LATIN NAME: Astragalus adsurgens
COMMON NAME: Erect Milkvetch, Standing Milkvetch
The erect milkvetch is a modest and generous plant of the eastern Asian grasslands, and its clusters of pink-purple, pea-like flowers and its leafy growth have made it a valued plant of the pastures and the meadows of the region. Over the seasons it steadily builds a rounded crown, standing 5-10 metres at maturity. It is a species of the legume family, and it is a valued plant of the grasslands and the pastures of the eastern Asia, prized as a fodder and a green manure, while it is known as the erect milkvetch or the standing milkvetch, and it is a modest but useful plant of the meadows.
The erect milkvetch belongs to the legume family, Fabaceae, and it is a perennial, herbaceous plant of the milkvetch genus. It is a valued plant of the grasslands and the pastures of the eastern Asia, prized as a fodder and a green manure, while it is known as the erect milkvetch or the standing milkvetch, and it is a modest but useful plant of the meadows.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The erect milkvetch has a genuine and growing place in both agricultural and ecological research. It has been studied in the agriculture and the grassland science, since it is a valued fodder and a green manure of the pastures, and researchers have examined its growth, its forage value and its use in the improvement of the grasslands, while the value of the legume to the soil and the pastures of the region has been of continuing interest, and the role of the milkvetch in the grassland management has drawn attention in the international agricultural press as a valued pasture legume of the East. The plant has also been studied in the ecology, since it is a native of the eastern Asian grasslands, and researchers have examined its growth, its nitrogen-fixing value and its role in the meadow and the pasture communities, while the use of the plant in the restoration of the degraded grasslands has been examined. The species has also been studied in the botany, since it is a member of the legume family, and its classification and its relationships have been examined, while the study of the milkvetches and their many species has been of continuing interest. For a plant of such modest usefulness, the erect milkvetch has a steady and growing record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the erect milkvetch is a generous plant of the grasslands. Its pink-purple, pea-like flowers feed the bees and the insects, and its leafy growth gives cover, while, as a legume, it helps to enrich the soil of the meadows and the pastures where it grows.
Its economic value is real. The erect milkvetch is a valued fodder and a green manure of the pastures, and its value has drawn attention in the international agricultural press as a valued pasture legume of the East, while it is also valued in the restoration of the degraded grasslands. For a grower, the erect milkvetch is an easy and generous plant, and for a farmer or a gardener it brings a leafy, nitrogen-rich growth and a flush of pink-purple, bee-filled bloom. The seeds are simple and dependable — scatter them on the surface of moist soil in a sunny spot, press them in lightly, keep them gently watered, and theyll be sprouting within a week or two, growing on into a leafy, bee-filled plant of the meadows.