Barneby (1964) recognizes three varieties of 

 Astragalus convallarius . Variety convallarius 

 occurs in Montana in the upper Missouri River 

 valley near Helena, and south of Lima near the 

 state line, very close to populations in adjacent 

 Idaho. This variety ranges from southeastern 

 Idaho and southwest Wyoming to northeastern 

 Nevada, Utah, and northwestern Colorado (Barneby 

 1964) . The other two varieties, f initimus and 

 scopulorum , are found in extreme southwest Utah 

 and adjacent Nevada, and on the west slope of the 

 Colorado Rocky Mountains, respectively (Barneby 

 1964) . 



B. PRESENT LEGAL OR OTHER FORMAL STATUS 



1. FEDERAL STATUS 



a. U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE: None. 



b. U.S. FOREST SERVICE: None. 



2. STATE: Astragalus convallarius is ranked by the 



Montana Natural Heritage Program as G5S2 (Achuff 

 1991) . This means that the species is secure 

 globally but imperiled within the state. In 

 Lesica and Shelly (1991a) , the species is listed 

 as Sensitive (known from a limited number of 

 populations in Montana) . None of the above state 

 rank or status provide any legal protection for A. 

 convallarius . 



C. DESCRIPTION 



1. GENERAL NONTECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Lesser rushy 

 milkvetch is an almost leafless and rushlike 

 taprooted perennial which blends in with 

 surrounding grass cover (Figure 4) . The stems and 

 leaves are covered with whitish to grayish or 

 greenish-grayish hairs. Sometimes the leaflets are 

 hairless on the upper surface. Stems are usually 

 few, commonly 4-6, erect or ascending, 5-20 in. 

 long, and with fine lines or ridges. The first %- 

 2% in. of the stems are underground; after that 

 the stems branch with the branches sometimes 

 again branching. The branches zigzag at the tips. 

 The small leaf-like structures at the base of the 

 leaves are of two sorts. The lower ones are 

 papery, pale or purplish-brown, up to h in- long, 

 appressed to the stem, and have their edges 

 united. The upper ones are smaller, leaf-like in 

 texture, and more or less triangular. They press 



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