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Plant Profile

Schmoll's Milkvetch (Astragalus schmolliae)

View of plant in native habitat. Note the seed pods that curve downward. Photo Credit: Carol Dawson

Global Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Fabaceae
State: CO
Nature Serve ID: 143808
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 03/08/1989

Description:

First collected by Alice Eastwood in 1890, this species grows only on the tops of mesas in a small part of Mesa Verde National Park. Schmoll's milkvetch produces yellowish-white to creamy colored flowers with black hairs on the calyx during the months of May and June. Seeds of this species have been collected for ex-situ conservation and are currently being held at the National Seed Storage Laboratory in Fort Collins, Colorado. (CNPC 1997)

Where is Schmoll's Milkvetch (Astragalus schmolliae) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Sandy and gravelly flats and terraces, among juniper and pinyon pine, on sandstone and aeolian soils. Elev. 6800-7000 ft. (Spackman 1997)

Distribution:

Colorado endemic (Chapin Mesa at Mesa Verde National Park, Montezuma Co.). (Spackman 1997)

States & Provinces:

Schmoll's Milkvetch can be found in Colorado

Which CPC Partners conserve Schmoll's Milkvetch (Astragalus schmolliae)?

Denver Botanic Gardens

Not Sponsored

Assigned 06/09/17

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

10/02/2020

Seeds of this species have been collected for ex-situ conservation and are currently being held at the National Seed Storage Laboratory in Fort Collins, Colorado. (CNPC 1997)

10/02/2020

Seeds of this species have been collected for ex-situ conservation and are currently being held at the National Seed Storage Laboratory in Fort Collins, Colorado. (CNPC 1997)

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Known only from Chapin Mesa in Mesa Verde National Park and the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation in Montezuma County, Colorado. Although the species is abundant there, much of its occupied habitat has been burned and is threatened by invasive exotics. Additionally, the species has apparently not crossed the canyons to establish itself on other adjacent mesa-tops.

Carol Dawson

01/01/2010

Because this species is inherently rare, stochastic events are a threat.

Carol Dawson

01/01/2010

Quite established on Chapin Mesa, but has not spread to other mesas.

Carol Dawson

01/01/2010

None known.

Carol Dawson

01/01/2010

The National Park Service closely monitors this species. (Von Bargen 1997)

Carol Dawson

01/01/2010

Research is needed to determine the role of disturbance in population dynamics.