| Astragalus platytropis | |
|---|---|
| Astragalus platytropis flowers early during the summer in higher elevations. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Genus: | Astragalus |
| Species: | A. platytropis |
| Binomial name | |
| Astragalus platytropis A.Gray |
|
Astragalus platytropis is a species of milkvetch known by the common name broadkeel milkvetch. It is native to the western United States from Montana to California, where it lives at high elevation in alpine and subalpine plant communities. This is a very small perennial milkvetch which forms a small patch of very short silvery-green stems on the rocky ground. The leaves may be up to 9 centimeters long and are made up of several hairy leaflets. The inflorescence is a head of 4 to 9 pale purple flowers, each just under a centimeter long. The fruit is a bladdery legume pod which can exceed 3 centimeters long.