The following Participating Institutions are custodians for this species in the CPC National Collection:
Red Butte Garden and Arboretum
The conservation of Astragalus phoenix is fully sponsored.
Rita Dodge contributed to this Plant Profile.
A. phoenix is a long lived, perennial forb that develops into low spreading mounds that can reach 15 cm high and 50 cm in diameter. Flowers are pink-purple and leaves are covered in dense, white hairs. This species grows in the highly saline soils of desert wetlands in eastern Nevada.
Population growth is constrained by low seed output per plant A. phoenix is visited by a bee (Anthophora porterae) that is likely a vital pollinator. Wind and water are probably the primary vectors for dispersal, but it has been observed that most of the seed produced does not disperse long-distances and remains within the leaves and branches of the parent plant.
Distribution & Occurrence
Dry saline slopes in clay soils found in desert wetlands in Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.
|Low numbers of plants are scattered over the eastern portion of Ash Meadows in Nye Co., NV.
Approximately 15,606 individuals within a 73 acre area. 12 element occurances are recorded.
Conservation, Ecology & Research
Trampling by wild horses and livestock
Off-road vehicle disturbance
Herbivory from rabbits
Astragalus phoenix. 1978. Report on Astragalus phoenix [Barneby] (Ash Meadows milk-vetch). Dept of Interior. p.30. unpublished.
Bio-West, Inc. 2009. Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge vegetation mapping and rare plant survey. Logan, Utah: Bio-West, Inc.. p.47. vegetation mapping, paper, electronic.
Pavlik, B.M. A.E. Stanton and M. Bernegger. 2006. Managing Populations of Rare Plants at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge I. Demographic Survey and Habitat Quality Assessment to Recover Astragalus phoenix. US Fish and wildlife Service. p.39. unpublish