Astragalus zionis is a species of legume known by the common name Zion milkvetch. It is one of the earliest flowers to bloom in Zion canyon.[3] First described by botanist Marcus E. Jones in 1895, the species has also been placed in the defunct genus Xylophacos under the name Xylophacos zionis.[2] The varietyAstragalus zionis var. vigulus, the guard milkvetch, was described by Stanley Welsh in 1993.[4]
Description
The plant's flowers are purple and its foliage is silvery. The pods are rather hairy, somewhat inflated, ovate, usually mottled, and grow up to one inch long.[3]
^Albee, Beverly J.; Leila M. Sjultz; Sherel Goodrich (1988). Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah, USA: The Utah Museum of Natural History. p. 293. ISBN0-940378-09-4.